


Miscommunications Ahoy!

by beemotionpicture, TiredScienceBro



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Alternating Genres, Bruce pov, Fic War, Idiots in Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-14 20:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17515601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beemotionpicture/pseuds/beemotionpicture, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredScienceBro/pseuds/TiredScienceBro
Summary: Despite his steady job at King’s College and numerous academic titles. Bruce Banner has never been able to establish a connection with people. Luckily, with the use of an online group chat app he’s finally found someone that speaks his language. It hasn’t taken him long to fall head over heels for his online friend, Tank.Thing would be fine if it wasn’t for one small complication, Tony Stark. Just when Bruce thought falling for one person was nerve wracking enough, now he has the world’s most famous sky captain offering to whisk him away on a life of adventure.How will Bruce manage to balance both his online and personal lives as he is pulled between both worlds?





	1. #introductions

**Author's Note:**

> FIC WAR! Both of us chose a different genre before starting this piece, then we alternated writing chapters of the same story. We had no idea about what the other person had written in their chapter until it was time to write our own. We respect all canon established by each other in the previous chapters but do our best to shift the story away from each other’s genre and focus on our own.
> 
> Based on the idea by: [fivewrites.](http://fivewrites.tumblr.com/post/165921763076/i-have-a-dumb-idea-fic-wars)
> 
> Bee: Odd Chapters, TSB: Even Chapters

******[Search      ] @ ?**  
**|      ONLINE - 2  
** **| *Auxetic Titan  
** **|        *Feynman**

**\/ PERSONAL     +  
** # **chat**

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:10 PM  
So, you never told me. Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Or— _gasp_! Could it be that you’re married?

 **Feynman** Today at 8:12 PM  
That’s a pretty invasive question, you know.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:14 PM  
We are talking in the PERSONAL channels  
We’ve known each other for months and nothing about your love life? Your job?  
just delete these channels, then  
What else is this server for than for us scientists to mingle??

 **Feynman** Today at 8:15 PM  
I’m raising my eyebrows.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:16 PM  
I’m waggling mine

 **Feynman** Today at 8:16 PM  
Hah. Funnily enough, I can imagine that.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:18 PM  
can you? And what do I look like, pray tell.

 **Feynman** Today at 8:18 PM  
You’ve got blonde hair.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:21 PM  
Hm. go on...

 **Feynman** Today at 8:22 PM  
Yeah. Very rugged look.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:24 PM  
You wouldn’t be wrong. People have called me ruggedly handsome.

 **Feynman** Today at 8:24 PM  
You have a big nose.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:25 PM  
asdfgujhas;  
_I’m choking_

 **Feynman** Today at 8:27 PM  
Oh?

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:27 PM  
_you’re unbelievable_

 **Feynman** Today at 8:27 PM  
Oh?

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:27 PM  
**_My nose is cute as a button!!!_ **

**Feynman** Today at 8:27 PM  
:)

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:28 PM  
Wow. You wound me.

 **Feynman** Today at 8:28 PM  
Sorry, Tank. Couldn’t resist.

 **Auxetic Titan** Today at 8:28 PM  
You know, since you started this server  
i don’t think I’ve ever seen you this relaxed.

 **…Feynman** is typing…

Well you bring that out in me, Mr. Tank|  
Well you bring that o|  
Well yo|

 **Feynman** Today at 8:30 PM  
Well, work’s been good, lately.

  
  
  


What was Bruce doing? That sounded like flirting. He didn’t want to come off like he was flirting. Because he wasn’t flirting. Of course not; he just…

He liked Tank. A lot.

It was difficult not to. The man was wildly intelligent, incredibly witty—and they had connected in a way that Bruce hadn’t since…well, ever.

Bruce was a man of varied interests, and it wasn’t his fault that those interests were quite—niche? esoteric?…boring? So what if he didn’t have a life outside his work. So what if the other professors stopped inviting him out to drinks. He was the one who refused each and every time, anyway.

Bruce had chosen this life, so he had nothing to complain about. He had a stable job, he was good at what he did, he even enjoyed it for the most part. That was better than what a lot of people could say.

But was this all that he would amount to? The only thing he’d have to look forward to, waking up each day and going through the motions and not connecting with anyone ever?

There was a tight ball of anxiety in his chest that had refused to unravel for the past few years. He could barely function sometimes, he just craved…human interaction—anything, really, that meant he wouldn’t have to feel so goddamn empty.   
  
So Bruce joined servers, that was his thing. He joined and then he lurked and then he just felt too damn awkward to say anything after a while so he just left. Wash, rinse, repeat. It was a soul-crushing cycle that he couldn’t break.

Discord had been a godsend. He could make communities based on interests and start discussions and even, hell, just send memes. He would wake up every morning and have notifications for messages that he missed, and he would moan and groan that was asleep while his friends had all the fun. At least, that’s what he thought it would be.

Months on this app and he had no friends.

It was an app for chatting—maybe you needed to have friends already. Bruce knew that was a terrible excuse, but for a while he believed it.

An app to connect people. Connection. A logical sequence in thought or expression. So Bruce did what he always did, and trusted science. What would the logical next step be?

He’d like to say that his hand slipped. Yes, it slipped when he accidentally pressed the “new server” button, and it slipped when he named the server “The Science of Chemistry”. Not the best pun, admittedly, and a lot of people joined who didn’t get that the server’s sole purpose was to unite lonely scientists from around the world.

It sounded even sadder when he put it like that, but whatever. It was true.

Then Tank had joined. Tank, who was brilliant and clever and who may even be smarter than Bruce, he couldn’t tell. He was charming and charismatic and also Bruce was doing the thing again, where he couldn’t stop waxing poetic about the man. It was absolutely ridiculous.

  
  
  
  


**\/ IMPORTANT     +  
** **#intros**

  


**Auxetic Titan** 04/06/2018  
I’m Tank. Older than you, probably. Found this server on the net, yada yada. Let’s see if we have chemistry then, shall we? I think you’ll find me positively _electrifying_.

  


Tank’s icon was a photo of Nikola Tesla, and that was yet another completely underwhelming pun. He also figured out right away that his handle—Au Ti—referred to a gold titanium alloy. _Classy_. Bruce snorted out a laugh, despite himself.

His own intro had gone like this:

  


**Feynman** 03/21/2018  
Feynman after my favorite physicist. You can call me Rick. Please don’t hesitate to @ me if you encounter any trouble on this server.

  


Immediately after Tank had entered the server, he had gotten a DM:

  


**[Find or start a conversation]  
** **Feynman  
** #8085

This is the beginning of your direct message history with **@Auxetic Titan**.

 **Auxetic Titan** 04/06/2018  
Feynman, huh? He’s a favorite of mine, too. Smokin hot.

 **Feynman** 04/06/2018  
That’s not why it’s my handle, but sure.

 **Auxetic Titan** 04/06/2018  
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.  
\- Richard Feynman, 1974 Caltech commencement address  
;)

  
  
  


Bruce was charmed.

After that, they had mostly stayed chatting in the server. Bruce didn’t know why Tank stuck around, it was mostly inactive even though Bruce tried to jump in and get the conversation going a few times every day. They had a whopping seventeen members, half of which were probably just students who had joined hoping to get some homework tips, but when Tank started conversations people tended to listen.

Bruce had never understood it when people said someone could light up a room just by walking in. But then Tank had walked in, and the room was…suddenly lit.

He caught himself and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts before they left the territory of “friendly” and entered “completely irrational and maybe even slightly flowery”. He had better concentrate—you know, on his actual _job_.

Again, Bruce liked this job. It was challenging, although in the sense that he constantly had to push himself out of his comfort zone when dealing with his students. He had to practice simplifying the concepts that made the world work, and he had to do it while keeping the attention span of a bunch of eighteen-year-olds.

Despite everything he had been through, Bruce would never get sick of talking about science. He could do it all day—in fact, it was probably what kept him sane. More than that, it was the only way he could see the world beyond the reality he lived in every day.

Bruce yawned and pushed his chair back. It wasn’t that late in the night, but he still had a ton of papers to grade. He was going to need some coffee for this. At least eight mugs worth.

He scratched his side idly as he waited for the coffee to brew. What homework should he give out on Monday…

  
  
  


There was a beeping from his laptop and he hurried back to his work station. He leaned over just in time to see the desktop notification:

  


**Auxetic Titan  
**Hey

  


Bruce, still bent over the back of the chair, started typing with one hand.

  


**…Feynman** is typing…

  


Tank had always been the faster typist, though.

  


**Auxetic Titan** Today at 1:32 AM  
You wanna meet up?

  


Bruce dropped the mug in his hand.


	2. Run Aground

Bruce slammed the laptop closed out of sheer terror. His hands were shaking as he ran them through his short graying curls. He started pacing nervously back and forth across the kitchen.

Why did Tank have to suggest meeting up so soon? It wasn't that Bruce was against it, it was just all a bit too fast. As he paced he noticed something wet seeping through his socks. Bruce looked down and noticed the spilt coffee all over the floor. He didn't even remember dropping the mug and sighed as he set about cleaning it up.

He stared down at his laptop. He had so much marking to get through, but that would mean opening his laptop back up and seeing the message again. The marking would have to wait. Instead he decided he should probably try and get some rest.

Several hours of restless sleep later Bruce finally gave up on trying to get any decent rest. The idea of meeting Tank was still buzzing around his head and was making it impossible to do anything else. Perhaps an early morning walk would do him some good—there might even be some new ships down at the harbor. Swinging his legs out of bed he made his way to the wardrobe and pulled on his breeches, a crisp white shirt and an understated green waistcoat.  Once he was dressed he picked up his Smartphone from his bedside table. He had installed the app on his phone so that he wouldn't miss a message if he was away from his desk. There were no new messages on his Discord server, but in his DMs still sat the unanswered question.

_ Wanna meet up? _

Once down stairs he slipped on his shoes, buckled them up, shrugged on his coat and stuffed the phone into his pocket.

_ Out of sight, out of mind, _ he thought to himself.

Opening the door, he stepped out into the early morning air. The sun was still an hour or so from rising but that didn't stop people from already being out. Living in a busy harborside town meant that people rose early.

The streets were busy as milkmen made deliveries and bakers stocked their shelves with freshly baked goods. Bruce stopped in at a small bakery to get his breakfast, a warm pastry filled with apple. He ate it contently as he walked along the cobbled streets, smiling at people as he passed.

The marketplace was alive and bustling with activity. Merchants were yelling as they advertised their latest hauls, trying to convince shoppers they had the best deals, and buyers scurried around looking for the best prices. As Bruce navigated the busy marketplace he did his best to avoid bumping into anyone. He often did such a good job of remaining inconspicuous that people would bump into him repeatedly, not seeing him until he was right under their feet.

As he made his way closer to the docks he could see that a large crowd was gathered beyond the normal market goers. A weird occurrence—why were so many people here at this hour of the morning? He had come down here for some fresh air, and now he had an entire crowd of people to deal with. Perhaps he should just head home and face those papers that needed marking. Curiosity, however, was getting the best of him. Looking around he spotted an annoyed harbor master who didn't appear thrilled about the abundance of people.

"Excuse me," Bruce asked the man nervously. "What's going on here? Why are there so many people?"

"It's that Captain Stark," the harbor master responded, clearly annoyed. "Someone got a tip that he and his crew are landing here this morning."

"Tony Stark is coming here?" Bruce asked, amazed. He knew of the famous captain and his ship. It was said to be one of the most technically marvelous vessels in the world and Stark had the reputation to match. The rumours were that when he could no longer take the pressure of running the tech company his father left him, he had stolen a ship and abandoned his position.

More celebrity than captain, Tony Stark had dedicated his life to adventure, travelling the world and protecting it from danger with the help of his flawlessly selected crew. The sun was starting to rise now, and although Bruce hated crowds he couldn't deny himself the opportunity to see Stark's ship for himself. Standing off to the side, away from the crowd, Bruce waited.

"Up there!" Someone in the crowd suddenly yelled, and all heads turned upwards to see where they were pointing. Bruce craned his neck and saw it, the golden glint emerging from the clouds overhead. At first it was small, but soon the hull of the ship and foremast emerged from the clouds and the crowd erupted with applause.

It was one of the most beautiful sights Bruce had ever seen, the clouds parting to reveal a magnificent airship, its engines roaring as it sailed down towards the harbor. Bruce had always adored airships—it seemed impossible that they were even able to stay in the sky at all, yet against the odds they managed it. Bruce's greatest regret was his failed gamma engine prototype. If not for the accident perhaps it would be himself up there in the clouds, the wind in his hair without a care in the world. But life had something else planned for him and here he was, stuck on the ground.

The ship swooped overhead, causing the crowd to cheer and woop. Bruce let out a laugh at the showmanship of it all. As the ship sailed back up above them Bruce could see the mighty engines embedded in its underside.  

"What are they playing at!?" The angry harbor master yelled, keeping a tight grip on his hat to stop it being blown away by the gust of wind the ship created in its wake.  

Then Bruce saw him, a man perched on the top of the highest yard, a long rope in hand. Without hesitation the man jumped. The crowd let out a gasp and Bruce couldn't look away as the man soared through the air towards them all. Just before he was about to hit the ground, the rope pulled tight and sent him sailing over the heads of the crowd. Reaching the apex of his swing, the man let go of the rope and flew through the air, landing perfectly on his feet, hands thrown up and a wide grin on his face. The audience went crazy with applause and cheers as he waved out at all of them.  

The man was dressed in a beautiful red doublet with gold trimming. His broad tri-corner hat sat proudly on his head, yellow and red feathers sticking out the side and his tight black pants were tucked into his knee high leather boots. Every gold button, buckle and clasp were highly polished and gleamed in the sunlight.

As the crowd surrounded the man, Bruce turned his attention to the ship. Its body was made of polished wood and the sails flapped and rustled in the wind. Beneath the hull Bruce could see the mighty engines, effortlessly keeping the ship aloft. They were so quiet for how much power they must be generating for the ship to remain in the air.

He stared, taking in every detail possible, he rarely saw a ship this beautiful in the port so he wasn’t going to waste a moment of time looking at it. 

"Can I help you?" A voice asked and Bruce jumped. Standing next to him was a man who Bruce had to assume was the ship’s crew member. His outfit was a lot less bold than Stark's, favoring gray and charcoal rather than the vibrant red.

"I was just looking at the ship," Bruce stammered. "It's beautiful."

The man looked at him suspiciously. "Yes, it is. A lot of people would love to know Tony's secret. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" The man took a step towards him and Bruce began to back off, confused as to why the man was distrustful of him.  

"Rhodey!" A voice called out. The man stopped his advance on Bruce and turned towards the voice. Bruce followed his gaze and saw strutting towards them none other but Tony Stark. "What are you doing?"

Rhodey began to respond but Tony continued over him without missing a beat. "Did you see all those people crowding me? They were trying to  _ hand _ me things. I made you first mate so you could deal with that stuff."

"How do you expect me to rescue you from people when you literally jump off the boat and into the crowd?" Rhodey asked.

Bruce watched as the two argued back and forth and it was clear to him that they were good friends. Despite the fact that they were bickering, there was no malice in either of them, it was all in good fun. Bruce wished he had anything resembling a relationship as good as what these two had.

"Who's this?" Tony asked, pointing at Bruce without even looking at him.

"I don't know," Rhodey replied, looking back at Bruce. "Caught him snooping around, looking at the engines."

"W-what?" Bruce gaped. "I wasn't snooping around, I was just admiring them."

"Exactly!" Tony stated excitedly, moving over to Bruce and casting an impressed look over him. Bruce could feel Tony's eyes trace over him and it made Bruce shiver but he wasn't quite sure why. He let out a gasp as Tony suddenly spun and put his arm around Bruce shoulders. "Who wouldn't want to look at my marvelous ship! I could stare at it for days. You worry too much, Rhodey."

Rhodey let out a sigh.

"You should feel what it's like to fly her out in the open sky," Tony whispered close to Bruce's ear, a hint of wonder in his voice. Bruce was still fixed on the feeling of Tony’s hand wrapped around his arm and the feel of his breath so close to his ear. It only made him shiver more, so much so that Bruce had to focus extra hard on what he was saying. "Best feeling in the world."

"As much as we would all love to stand around admiring you and your ship," Rhodey interrupted sarcastically. "Do you think you could tell me exactly what it is we're doing in this port, now that we're here?"

Tony nodded and released Bruce from his grip. Bruce felt slightly taken aback by the loss of contact.

"You always know how to take the wind out of my sails, don't you, Rhodey?" Tony cast a quick look back at Bruce with a wink and elbowed him in the ribs. "Pun intended."

Bruce laughed, what was it with the abundance of puns lately? He looked over to see that Rhodey was simply rolling his eyes. 

He saw Tony pull a Starkphone out of his pocket and give it a quick glance before shoving it back in. "Just a quick stop off while I wait for my contact to send me the details of our next rendezvous point."

"Then perhaps while we're here we can try and solve that other problem of ours."

"Good thinking," Tony stated, walking away from Bruce and slapping Rhodey on the back. "I knew I kept you around for a reason. The sooner we find a new science officer, the sooner we can leave. Such a shame our last guy had to retire." 

The two friends were walking away together, continuing their conversation.

"Retire? I don't call being killed by Frost Giants,  _ retirement _ , Tony."

"That's  _ Captain Stark  _ to you, First Mate."

Bruce stood, still transfixed at the words.  _ Science Officer _ .


	3. NEW SERVER?

By the time Bruce returned home from the harbor, he was drained—physically, and emotionally.

It had been an exciting day, and he was still reeling from the opportunity that had presented itself today. An opportunity that came, and went.

He was never going to see the sky.

With that in mind, he finally took his phone out and scrolled through the messages he had received in the past few hours. He bit his lip, and felt unfathomably sad.

  
  


**@Auxetic Titan**

**Feynman** Today at 11:47 PM  
Hi, Tank. Sorry for the late reply.   
Unfortunately, things are hectic for me at the moment|

  
  


_ Lie _ .

  
  


**Feynman** Today at 11:48 PM   
Unfortunately, things are hectic for me at the moment so I have to decline. Maybe some other time, though.

  
  


Bruce didn’t wait to see his reply, and turned in for the night.

  
  
  
  


**OH, ANOTHER SERVER HUH?**

  
  


**Create**

Create a new server and invite your friends.

It’s free!

**[Create a Server]**

OR

**Join**

Enter an Instant Invite and join

your friend’s server.

**[Join a Server]**

  
  


Bruce clicked “create”.

  
  


**CREATE YOUR SERVER**

By creating a server, you will have access to free voice

and text chat to use amongst your friends.

  
  


**SERVER NAME  
** [King’s College - The Physics of Flight| ]

**SERVER REGION  
** US East | Change

By creating a server, you agree to Discord’s  
**Community Guidelines** .

<— BACK

**[Create]**

  
  


**WELCOME TO YOUR SERVER, FEYNMAN!**

  
  


**/_ CHANGE NICKNAME**

**NICKNAME**

[Dr. Bruce Banner| ]

**Reset Nickname**

**[Cancel] | [Save]**

**\+ INVITE PEOPLE  
** https://discord.gg/TMK623v [Copy]

  
  
  
  


It was 5 in the morning, and Bruce cursed at himself. Dr. Jane Foster had gone on maternity leave and he had been put in charge of her class by the faculty. He had been given a week’s notice, so he’d had ample time to create the group server for his students. He’d put it off till the last minute because he’d been prioritizing his relationship with a stranger over his work, of all the goddamn things.

He still hadn’t checked Tank’s reply. 

The badge count on his app grew higher and higher and it taunted him, almost. He ignored it and focused on setting up his server, uploading photos of the updated syllabus and readings for the following day. He brought up the class mailing list on his laptop and forwarded the invite to the group.

Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his temples. His mind kept drifting to Tank, although he willed it not to. He had to admit that—he’d panicked. Irrationally so. This was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? To form connections with people? And yet, Tank’s invitation to meet in person had terrified him. Behind a screen, he could be anyone. The rapport he had built with Tank would stand strong. But in person, that could all fall apart.

Just like when he met Captain Stark yesterday. He had the chance, the opportunity to—to actually join an  _ airship crew _ . Science officer. Bruce knew he didn’t mean to but Stark had dangled the term in front of him and he just...blanked. Captain Stark was everything Bruce wasn’t. People like them just didn’t click.

And it was the same with Tank. What if they didn’t have that chemistry? What if he wasn’t what Tank expected? 

His whole life, Bruce had fallen short of everyone’s expectations of him. His father’s expectations, Captain Ross’s expectations—even Betty’s, when he had hurt her. And that absolute fear of disappointing someone—that was what always paralyzed him, what always made him grow distant with friends. Or should he say  _ acquaintances _ , because if he was being completely honest with himself, then he’d admit that he didn’t have any friends at all.

And whose doing was that but his own?

  
  
  
  


Later that day, Bruce took the scenic route to the main building where his classroom was located. King’s college was beautiful in the fall—the foliage was just starting to turn an autumn red, and the leaves decorated the cobblestone pathways. It was quiet, with only a few students, and the dichotomy between this picturesque view and the energetic marketplace he had visited yesterday was interesting, to say the least.

  
Bruce loved them both. He was used to the comfort that this stillness brought him; here he was free from anxiety and the world would just—cease to exist in the moment. But oh, the adventure the other scene promised: the idea that he could be in those busy streets and the beautiful port—and blend in, be as carefree as the sailors who came and went as they pleased…now that was an appealing dream he could never entertain.

  
And that thought grounded him. It brought him back to the present; he remembered he was Dr. Bruce Banner, esteemed professor at one of the only institutions of higher learning in America. Apparently, that was all that he would ever be.

  
  
  
  


“To understand a ship’s capacity for flight, one must first familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of physics, specifically—energy. How does a ship’s wings thrust the aircraft into the sky? What keeps a ship up in the air?”

He paused long enough that a kid in the front row raised her hand. Bruce winced, but continued with his spiel.

“The earliest airships began with steam. The previous school of thought was that if one had the materials to produce enough hot air, then the amount of weight that could be lifted into the sky was limitless. Simple enough—although this was, of course, later proven false. Newton's third law dictates that the maximum weight a hot air balloon could carry equals to the lifting force of said balloon.”   
  
Some students had looks on their faces that screamed confusion, so he decided to go easy on them since it was their first day.

He resisted the urge to sigh. “Let’s go back to the basics, shall we? The weight of an average airship is about, hm, a thousand tons. For a ship to leave the ground, stay suspended, and even traverse through the air would require a tremendous amount of potential energy. Bring up the copy of your handouts, which I sent to the class server earlier this morning.”

  
  


**Aerodynamics: Eliminating Sources of Energy**

Explain which of the following are viable sources of energy for powering airships:

  1. Solar Energy. 
  2. Wind Energy.
  3. Geothermal Energy.
  4. Fossil Fuels.
  5. Tidal Energy.
  6. Wave Energy.
  7. Hydroelectric Energy.
  8. Biomass Energy.
  9. Hydrogen Energy.
  10. Nuclear Energy.

 




 

 

Glancing down at his laptop, Bruce actually did sigh this time. “In the interest of saving time, let me tell you that the first nine are  _ not _ viable sources of energy for airships.” 

Discussing this topic was soul sucking, Bruce thought. He considered the faculty deeming him “the right fit” for teaching this class as some sort of cruel joke. Although a well established professor now, his radical ideas had isolated him from the scientific community almost a decade ago.

Gamma energy. He had thought that was the future. An engine powered by gamma radiation could—theoretically—lift a  _ thousand _ airships if efficient enough. But his experiments at Harvard college had proven him wrong. Gamma energy was dangerous, and he was foolish to have ever thought he could harness it. Foolish, and foolhardy to have attempted operating that engine all those years ago.

It blew up in his face. Literally.

And all for a silly dream of reaching the sky…

“The first nine we eliminate for being impractical, unsustainable, or both. The tenth, nuclear power, is the only source that generates enough energy to power ship engines.”

He was distracted enough that he almost didn’t notice a hand being raised towards the back of the hall. Bruce was just about to call on the student when the man spoke up anyway.   
  
“Would any kind of nuclear reaction work? Like, say, one powered by a palladium core?”   
  
Bruce was at a loss. Not at the question, no, but at the person it came from.

Tony Stark. He may not be wearing the red and the gold, but Bruce would recognize that man after seeing him yesterday. He had an air about him, one that demanded attention, and it was a wonder that none of the other students turned to look at Stark.

He answered almost on autopilot. “…palladium could work, yes.”

Stark cocked an eyebrow. “But?”   
  
“But any ship powered by an engine with a palladium core would have a dead crew within months. I say nuclear energy, but there are actually very few chemical elements that can be used to run airships. Plenty of them are, it goes without saying, very toxic.”

Bruce didn’t know what he expected, but it definitely wasn’t for Stark to quiet down after that answer. It was scientifically sound, but his delivery had much to be desired.

Tense, Bruce delivered the rest of his lecture. He couldn’t help but steal glances at Stark once in a while, but mostly he kept his gaze on the ground.

_ I must be quite the spectacle _ , Bruce thought bitterly.  _ Rumpled college professor gives the most basic class on airship flight in front of the world’s most famous sky captain. _

He finished his lecture rather lamely, telling the students to check the Discord regularly for announcements.

  
  
  
  


After class, a few students came up to him to ask questions about the discussion. He answered them politely but distractedly, eyes flicking up to where Stark had been sitting.

Gone. Bruce knew it was an isolated incident, something to laugh about and maybe even tell Tank about later, when things weren’t so weird between them anymore. He knew he shouldn’t allow himself to feel strongly about what happened, but he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

He sighed again, gathering his things. About to leave, he turned and almost collided with a body.

“Interesting lecture,” Stark interrupted before Bruce could say anything. It was probably for the best, because Bruce didn’t know what in the hell he’d say, anyway. Stark continued, “—ultimately flawed, but interesting.”   
  
In what must have been a fit of madness, Bruce raised an eyebrow and bit back, “Really, now? How so?”   
  
“I saw you eyeing my gal yesterday, and assumed you were an engineer like me. But nuclear energy being the only feasible energy source for airships? A statement like that must come from a physicist.”

Bruce didn’t back down. “So you attended a freshman physics course and were surprised it was taught by a physicist. I think you must be the interesting one, Captain Stark.”   
  
Tony smirked. “So you  _ do _ remember me. And here I thought I was imagining that blush during the lecture.”   
  
Well, he must have been, because Bruce hadn’t blushed earlier. He came pretty close to it now, though.

Gathering himself, Bruce stood up straight from his usual slouch. “Well? You still haven’t said why my lecture was flawed. Nuclear energy  _ is _ the only viable method of getting modern airships off the ground.”   
  
“Again. Wrong.”

Bruce resisted the urge to grit his teeth. “And what else would you propose, then?”

Stark just looked smugly amused. “You  _ have _ heard of Tesla, haven’t you? Kind of a big deal with that coil of his, you know.”

Bruce would’ve gaped, but he wouldn’t give Stark the pleasure of seeing him caught off guard. “You’re saying you want to run an airship with the electricity generated by a  _ Tesla coil _ ?”

“I’m saying it’s possible.”   
  
“Okay, first of all, to get any significant amount of potential energy you would need a coil the size of a—a building,” Bruce started. “—but even then the coil would only be able to generate lightning-like strikes. Which wouldn’t be close to what you’d need to power a ship—”

“Unless you harness the gamma rays from the lightning.”   
  
“—unless you harness—” Bruce stopped abruptly.

_ Then _ he gaped.

There was a pause.

Then, inexplicably, Stark laughed. Ordinarily Bruce would’ve been affronted, but it wasn’t mocking, not at all. The laugh was a playful, teasing sound, and Stark looked almost—fond. Like he’d had a pleasant conversation with a friend as opposed to some bizarre argument with this nobody of a professor.

Bruce found himself smiling, and he bit his lip to keep the expression at bay. The whole experience had been surreal, and he was half-convinced that it was all a dream. But the excitement running through his veins was real, and he realized—this is what it felt like to be with an equal. The only time he’d ever felt that way was with—

His heart stuttered, and for the first time since Stark approached him, Bruce looked away.

If he had been looking up, he would’ve seen Stark frown, brows furrowed. But he wasn’t, and so he didn’t.

“That settles it.”   
  
Bruce’s gaze snapped back to him at the pronouncement. But instead of Stark meeting his eyes, he was tapping away at his phone. Moments later, he brought it up to his ear.   
  
“Rhodey, I’ve got him.”   
  
He didn’t wait for an answer before giving Bruce a grin, sharp and conspiratorial. With his other hand, he pointed at Bruce.   
  
“You? Are coming with me.”


	4. Wind in Your Sails

"What?" 

"I'm in the market for a new science officer for my ship, but you knew that already,” Tony stated, winking at him.  

“I can’t just drop everything and go with you,” Bruce replied, moving away from him and back to his desk. The wink had nearly caused him to blush and he didn’t want to give Tony any more reasons to believe he had that kind of power over him.   

“Oh but you can, you see that's the beauty of it." Tony placed his arm around Bruce's back. "You just walk out those doors, and we sail away together."

"I'm already filling in for someone on leave," Bruce mumbled as he shrugged Tony off and packed away the last of his things.  His nerves were starting to get the best of him and Tony being in his personal space was not helping matters. He retreated towards the door in an attempt to put some distance between them but quickly realised that Tony wasn’t going to give up that easily. 

Bruce almost had to run to try and get away but everytime he glanced back he saw that Tony was still there, a persistent grin plastered on his face. 

Finally reaching his office, Bruce pushed open heavy oak door and closed it behind him, aware that Tony was still attempting to follow him. The closed door did nothing to stop the Captain though, as it was pushed open before Bruce had a chance to lock it. 

Tony stumbled into the room, clearly believing that Bruce was going to put up more of a fight in keeping him out. Bruce shook his head at Tony and moved behind the desk, switching on his laptop with the intention of finally grading some papers. Perhaps Tony would take the hint and leave if he realised Bruce was serious. 

“Nice view,” Tony stated with an approving nod as he moved towards the window beside Bruce’s desk. “Not as nice as the view from the deck of my ship though,” he added playfully. 

Bruce did his best to ignore him but the insistent scuffling sound coming from the window eventually drew him to turn around and face the pest in his office.

“Captain Stark,” Bruce said, “I really appreciate your interest in me, but I can’t go with you.” Bruce was attempting to be as diplomatic as possible but Tony appeared to barely be paying attention anymore and had now abandoned the window and instead moved to the bookshelf and was skimming through a text book. 

“As you can see,” Bruce continued, trying his best to figure out how to get the captain out of his office. “I have a huge workload that would be impossible for me to leave behind.” He indicated the stack of assignments that lay on his desk. 

Tony turned his attention to the stack of papers Bruce had indicated and picked one up, examining it curiously. 

“You know what I don’t understand?” Tony asked, not looking up from the essay. 

Bruce resisted the urge to say, “ _ A lot of things” _ , and instead replied, “No, what?” __

“That I just heard you give one of the most well informed, if not slightly basic, lectures on airship energy theory, yet here you are,” he threw up his arms and span around to indicate the office around them. “Stuck on the ground.” 

“It’s not that easy for some of us to abandon our responsibilities as easily as you do,” Bruce snapped, becoming irritated at Tony’s ignorant viewpoint. He had no idea who Bruce was or his personal history. It may have been easy for Tony Stark, millionaire playboy to shrug off his responsibilities and take to the sky, but that wasn’t how things worked in the real world.

Tony turned so he was facing Bruce and pointed at him accusingly. “Yesterday when we were in the harbour all eyes were on me, except yours!”

“You’re so vain that you noticed someone who wasn’t looking at you?” Bruce shot back, feeling a fire kindling inside of him. 

“No, I noticed the man who looked at my ship the way that no one else apart from me does!” 

Bruce scoffed, he couldn’t believe he was arguing with Tony Stark of all people and for a reason he couldn’t explain,  _ enjoying it _ . He had to suppress a grin; regardless of the fact that he was engaged in a heated debate, he couldn’t be happier, almost like talking to Tony was the easiest thing in the world.

“Imagine, my surprise when I attended the lecture today and discovered that the brilliant Bruce Banner was the one looking at  _ my  _ ship yesterday!” Tony exclaimed.

“You- you’ve heard of  _ me _ ?” Bruce stammered, unable to believe what he had just heard. 

“Of course I have. Your theories on gamma radiation engines were genius, they would have changed the world.  _ You  _ would have changed the world.” Tony had a huge grin on his face as he spoke, but seeing that Bruce didn’t share his enthusiasm his expression dropped. “But instead here you are, sitting behind your desk instead of being out there where you belong.” 

Bruce was too stunned to speak. Tony Stark, world famous skyship captain had heard of him.

Leaning on the desk so their faces were level, Tony stared into his eyes and for that moment Bruce felt like he could see more than just the famous sky captain. 

“You’re brilliant,” Tony stated and Bruce could tell he was being sincere. “Having you on board? It would be my honour.”

Bruce continued to stare into Tony’s eyes. Oh, how he wanted to believe what he was hearing, to think that someone actually wanted him by their side. 

“I…I can’t, not anymore.” He couldn’t, he just knew he couldn’t. Plus how could he leave the college and all his students without any notice. He had too much responsibility.

Tony stepped back from the desk, a wide grin forming on his face despite the fact that Bruce had made it clear he was declining the offer. Tony continued to back towards the door, not breaking eye contact. Finally as he reached the door he spoke, “We leave tomorrow morning.”

Flashing one last smile at Bruce and bowing slightly, he opened the door and exited. 

Bruce sat in silence for several minutes, running over everything that had just happened. Years,  _ years,  _ of being lonely and suddenly the world’s most famous sky captain had stepped into his life and was offering to whisk him away.

Bruce felt a breeze on the back of his neck and watched as several papers blew off of his desk and onto the floor.

He turned to see that Tony had left the window wide open after cracking it open to admire the view. Sighing, Bruce stood and moved to close it. Reaching out, he attempted to pull it closed but it quickly became obvious that it was stuck. 

_ What has he done to it? _ Bruce thought to himself as he pulled harder on it, attempting to dislodge it. It was clear after several failed attempts that the thing was refusing to budge.

Bruce took a moment to look out at the view that Tony had admired earlier, he loved this view, he could see over part of the town and in the distance, the harbour. The autumn wind picked up, blowing his hair and feeling cool against his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of it against his skin, he really did spend far too much time inside behind his desk. Opening his eyes, he could see the masts of the ship in the distance and he wondered what it must be like to be up in the clouds with the wind and sun.

A thought suddenly dawned on him; The jammed window, the view, the breeze…Tony had planned this. But how had he come up with this after only being in the room for such a short amount of time? Between that and the morning’s lecture, Tony really was proving that there was more to him than anyone realised. 

Plus that smile. Bruce would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was slightly smitten by Tony’s smile. No one ever looked at him that way, perhaps it was just a another way that Tony was attempting to win him over so that he would simply join the crew.  _ But perhaps it’s genuine,  _ a smaller voice inside of him thought. He looked around the room and suddenly realised how small and empty it felt compared to minutes ago.

Tony’s words ran through his mind again;  _ You’re brilliant.  _

There had been no doubt in his mind that Tony had meant those words when he said them minutes before. 

_ Yet here you are, stuck on the ground. _

He turned and looked back out the window,  the wind was blowing through the leaves in the trees and the blue sky stretched out endlessly above. He could feel them calling to him.

Abandoning the window, Bruce ran for the door and threw it open. 

He ran down the corridor as fast as he could, pushing past groups of passing students who stopped to stare and laugh at the sight of a professor acting so unprofessionally.  

Bruce didn’t care though. As he ran through the gates of the college and out onto the street he didn’t stop once to look back at them. His feet pounding against the cobblestones and his heart racing, Bruce turned a corner, dodging a passing carriage and apologising as he bumped into a crowd of people. 

There, not far ahead of him down the street was Tony, walking at a leisurely pace and tapping away absentmindedly at his phone. 

“Stark!” Bruce called out, clutching his side as he panted for breath. He couldn't remember the last time he had run so hard. 

Turning around, almost as if he had been expecting him, Tony beamed. 

Looking down at the clock on his phone, Tony raised his eyebrow, “Seven minutes and nineteen seconds, I’m impressed. You put up more of a fight then I was expecting.” 

So he had known after all, Bruce realised. He knew that Bruce would come. Bruce found that he didn’t care as he ran to stand by Tony’s side. 

  
  
  
  


As they approached the ship together Bruce could see that Rhodey was busy ordering some dock hands about as they loaded the ship with supplies. He caught sight of them and cast Tony a questioning look. 

“Rhodey, I’d like to introduce our new science officer, Doctor Bruce Banner!” Tony slapped his hand on Bruce’s back as he introduced him and Bruce couldn’t help but grin. He didn’t expect hearing Tony say his name to have such an effect on him but they way Tony said it with such vigour and confidence… “Doctor Banner, meet my first mate, James Rhodes.”

“Welcome Bruce,” Rhodes said, offering his hand which Bruce shook eagerly. “Sorry about the whole, spy thing yesterday.” Bruce held up his hand to indicated that he didn’t need to apologise further. 

Tony pulled Bruce away and steered him up the gangplank, he was becoming used to how hands on Tony was and found that he welcomed the contact between them. 

As the two of them stepped onto the deck of the ship he was flooded with nervous energy. The sails were flapping in the breeze and crew member’s feet were thumping against the deck as they carried out the first mate’s orders. Bruce looked over at Tony who he could see beaming with pride at the ship and its crew. Tony had the same look in his eyes as he when he stared at Bruce over the desk, not the fake Captain Stark persona, but the real man underneath. His love of the ship was evident and Bruce realised why it had meant so much for Tony to see Bruce share that same passion the other day. 

“Is this the new guy?” a voice asked and Bruce turned to see a red headed woman approaching him. 

“It sure is!” Tony stated proudly, placing a firm hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “Doctor Banner, meet Natasha Romanoff. Miss Romanoff, this is Bruce Banner, our new science officer.” 

“A pleasure, Doctor Banner,” she said extending her hand which Bruce accepted and shook. Her grip was tight despite her slender form. 

“Hopefully he lasts longer than the last one,” she said dryly, giving Bruce a wink.

Bruce gave Tony a concerned look, not knowing if he was supposed to take it as a joke or not. He was thankful that Tony must have sensed his distress and changed the subject. 

“Where’s Clint?” he asked, looking around.

“Where else?” She replied, nodding upwards. “In his nest.” With that she nodded at both of them and wandered off. 

“You’ll get used to her,” Tony assured him. “Just don’t get on her bad side.” 

Bruce gave Tony another concerned look to which Tony simply replied by laughing. 

“C’mon, you can meet the others later. For know let’s go below deck and see where the real action is.” 

“Whatever you say,  _ Captain _ .” Bruce couldn’t help himself, after everything he had done today he couldn’t help but push his luck.

He was delighted to see that Tony stopped dead in his tracks at hearing Bruce's use of his title. It was clear he had caught Tony off guard and Bruce couldn’t be happier with the result. Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this after all. All that banter online with Tank was finally proving useful.  

Recovering quickly from his momentary loss of composure, Tony led him below deck, down to the engine room.   

Tony pushed open the door to the engine room and Bruce had not been prepared for what greeted him. Sitting in the centre of the room was a huge circular engine that Bruce had never seen before. 

“The arc reactor,” Tony announced, stepping towards the huge machine. “The greatest power source in the world. Invented by yours truly, of course.” 

“You, you built this?” Bruce gapped, walking around the room to get a better look. 

“Well, refined.” Tony clarified. “But it was my idea to put it in an airship.”

Bruce could see out the corner of his eye that Tony was watching him marvel at his creation. 

“So, what do you think?” Tony asked, turning to Bruce. 

“I think it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” Bruce said in a far away voice. 

“I know I am,” Tony responded with a cheeky grin.


	5. [pending friend request]

**@Auxetic Titan**

**Feynman** Yesterday at 11:48 PM   
Unfortunately, things are hectic for me at the moment so I have to decline. Maybe some other time, though.

**...Feynman** is typing…

**...Feynman** is typing…

**...Feynman** is typing…

  
  


Bruce was being ridiculous, he knew. Tank was probably busy—or tired of him, either option was plausible. It had only been a day. Bruce was probably overreacting.

But he was usually so quick to reply. He cut that train of thought short before he spiraled and went down the rabbit hole.

“Wh—is that what I  _ think _ it is?” A voice startled him and Bruce whirled around, clutching his phone to his chest.

“Captain Stark! You scared me,” Bruce said breathlessly as he clicked the screen shut. Tony didn’t seem to notice, however, still looking down at his hands. Bruce followed his gaze, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. His eyes flickered back up to Tony’s face and he tilted his head. “You mean…are you talking about my phone?”

“That? Is not a phone.”   
  
Before he knew it, Tony had snatched the phone out of his hands. He held it by two fingers as he examined it with disgust.

“Hey!” Bruce protested. “Give it back.”

“Absolutely not. Jesus, is this  _ Hammertech _ ? Blegh.” Tony’s face contorted even further. “This is garbage.”

“It was the phone they gave me at King’s College.” Bruce looked at him defensively. “And I couldn’t afford any better. Now give it back.”

“Hm. No.”

And then Tony flung his phone from the top deck.

Bruce watched in horror as the phone hit a beam on the edge of the ship. It bounced back and fell into the open trap door leading to the engine room below deck.

“ _ Tony _ !”

“Now come on. It’s unacceptable that you don’t have a phone.”

Bruce sputtered as Tony grabbed his arm and lead him from the deck to the captain’s cabin.

Tony’s hand was warm against his skin, but he shook his head and forced the thought down as soon as he realized what he was thinking. No use in getting himself so worked up over something that Tony probably didn’t even realize he was doing, anyway.

As soon as he got to the cabin, though, that thought was pushed far away from the front of his mind.

  
Despite himself, he looked at the interior of the room like it was Candyland. Tony’s quarters were huge, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. No, it was the tech and tools that took space on every available surface—that is, every surface that didn’t have blueprints laid out on.

“This—this is where you work?”   
  
Tony spared him a glance, smirking. “Yep. Welcome to casa del Tony. Don’t worry, we’ll get you set up in your own lab, soon.”

Bruce stared in bemusement as Tony opened a chest at the foot of his desk, rummaging inside before he drew something out. As Tony turned, Bruce caught a glimpse inside—

“Is that a chest full of Starkphones?” He gaped. 

“Sort of. These are just prototypes, they’re not mass produced. But they’re better than anything on the market right now, much less that hunk of junk earlier.” Tony mock shuddered.

“They aren’t mass produced, which means…you have a fabrication shop on this ship?” Bruce grew excited.  _ The possibilities! _ Bruce wasn’t an engineer; he focused more on the theory behind things, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fascinated by scientific marvels like the parts of this airship. He realized then and there that Tony wasn’t just a captain, he was a  _ shipwright _ . “That’s amazing.”

Tony smiled, and Bruce thought it was a surprisingly soft expression on his face.

“I do. We have all the toys.” Then he grinned, all teeth. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to play later. First things first—”

Tony handed him the phone, which Bruce booted up. While he set up the new device, Tony took out his own and started explaining things to him.

“The crew communicates through chat, because the ship is fairly big. Okay, that’s a total lie and I’ve never been one for modesty—it’s hella big. Do you have a Discord?”

Bruce swallowed, thinking of Tank. His friend. His Tank. He thought of the life he had to leave behind, and everything he’d be missing out on. He’d miss their late night conversations, the silly memes and inside jokes and debates over their server.

When had he started thinking of it as theirs?

“Bruce?” It seemed like he had taken a bit too long to respond.

“…no Discord, sorry,” he said, biting his lip.

Tony’s expression shuttered, and he paused before nodding. “Right. Well, download the app and make an account. I’ll send you the invite in a sec.”   
  
Bruce nodded, and did as he was told. He brought up the app store on his screen.

  
  


**Discord** 12+  
Chat for Gamers  
Discord, Inc.

#9 is Social Networking  
4.8, 316.7K Ratings  
_ Free _

  
  


Bruce tapped on [get].

  
  


[downloading…]

  
  


He looked up to find Tony staring at him with an odd, faraway look on his face. He looked like he was thinking of something, and Bruce wondered about the sudden change.

“Tony? Is something the matter?”   
  
Tony snapped back into the present, and there was a brief moment before he shrugged it off. He leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms. “Nah, that was pretty much it. You can get settled in your quarters now. I’ll bring you to your lab later.”

That was as much a dismissal as any. Still, Bruce couldn’t leave without thanking him. He hesitated slightly before saying, “Tony...this really means a lot to me. I don’t just mean the phone, but all this—”

“Don’t even start.” Tony waved it off, nonchalant. He crossed the room and seated himself on the bed. “I don’t give free handouts—I wouldn’t have brought you on this ship if you weren’t qualified. And I take care of my crew. Now go before I kick you out. I’m gonna take a nap.”

Bruce smiled and made to leave. Tony was unbelievable. He preened at every little praise (even if said praise came from himself), but clammed up at even the slightest hint of gratitude.

He stopped at the door, turning around to see Tony lying down with his arms behind his head, eyes closed.

“Thank you, Tony,” he murmured. “Sleep well.”

  
  
  
  


Bruce had left his things in his quarters earlier, but didn’t get much of a chance to look at it. Now that he had the time, though, he noticed it was actually fairly big. Spacious, when he had expected one of those minimalist rooms with a murphy bed or something. But no, the bed in the middle of the room was actually quite large, and there was even a desk to the side with a computer.

He went to examine it and saw that there were large metal finishings that kept the computer on the desk. As he looked around, Bruce noticed that  _ everything  _ in the room was bolted down.

_ Of course they would need to be, Banner. Otherwise things would keep shifting around. _

He had a lot to learn about the ship and how it worked, he realized. This wasn’t just fun an games, it wasn’t just all about adventure. He steeled himself. He would make sure to learn everything about this airship, inside and out. He would get involved with the goings on of the crew members because this…this was his home now. And the possibilities excited him.

He moved towards the closets, opening them. He shrugged out of his waistcoat and hung it neatly. Afterwards, he sat on the bed with a heavy sigh.

Bruce wondered what he’d be doing on this ship. He never really asked, after all. What did being a science officer entail? His mind was filled with worries, and he found himself reclining in a position that mirrored Tony’s earlier.

_ Tank would tell you to chill. _

He shook his head of the thought.

_ Relax, Bruce. Things’ll work out. _

_ You made the right choice. _

He closed his eyes, willing himself to believe.

  
  
  
  


When he had almost drifted off, it occurred to him. He sat up in his bed abruptly.

_ Oh crap, my phone! _

Bruce scrambled out of his room and down to the trap door, which had been closed shut. He pried it open and hoped that his phone wasn’t too badly damaged.

Climbing down the ladder, he almost slipped on one of the rungs; he was in such a hurry. He jumped down the final few steps and looked around for the light.

He blinked.

“What the hell?”   
  
Where was the switch?

Shaking his head, he decided to just use the flashlight on his phone, because the light from the trap door didn’t reach everywhere. He bent over, searching. After a few minutes, he found it.

_ Aha! _

Bruce crouched to pick it up when he heard a creaking sound. Then voices came from above him.

“Clint. I told you not to leave this open.”

“Huh? I could’ve sworn I didn’t.”   
  
“It’s dangerous.”

“I did, though! I closed it.”

“Sure you did.”

“Ugh, Nat!”

The man—Clint—grumbled and he made to close the door.

Bruce’s eyes widened and he snapped out of it. “W—wait!”

Clint obviously didn’t hear him, because the door shut a second later, and Bruce was engulfed in darkness. Bruce sighed. He took out his crew phone and made to contact Tony before he froze.

Tony hadn’t sent him the invite yet. He didn’t have a way to contact the crew, and that door blocked out all the noise.

_ Well, shit _ .

  
  
  
  


**@Auxetic Titan**

**Feynman** Yesterday at 11:48 PM   
Unfortunately, things are hectic for me at the moment so I have to decline. Maybe some other time, though.

**Feynman** Today at 3:42 PM

Hey…I’m sorry about yesterday.

Are you upset?

  
  


Bruce was honestly surprised to receive a reply so soon.

  
  


**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:43 PM  
No  
I’m not.  
i’m the one who’s sorry. That was kind of forward of me.

**...Feynman is typing** …

**Feynman** Today at 3:43 PM  
I just  
I think I sort of panicked?  
I’m not good with people. I think you’ve guessed that by now.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:44 PM  
You’re good with me.

  
  


Bruce inhaled sharply.

  
  


**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:44 PM  
I don’t know if you realized, but I can be a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes.

  
  


Bruce grinned cheekily, barely pausing before typed out a reply.

  
  


**Feynman** Today at 3:44 PM  
Only sometimes?  
You’re insufferable.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:45 PM  
you know it, baby.

**…Feynman is typing** …

**Feynman** Today at 3:45 PM  
…are we good?

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:45 PM  
Of course.

  
  


Bruce smiled gently.

  
  


**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:46 PM  
Just don’t  
Leave me again like that. Please?

**Feynman** Today at 3:46 PM  
I won’t.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:47 PM  
Good.  
Also. Found a photo of you.

**Feynman** Today at 3:47 PM  
Huh?

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 3:47 PM  
You look dashing, Rick.

  
  


Despite himself, Bruce laughed.

  
  
  
  


Clint found him later, thank god. Then he spent no less than ten minutes laughing about it.

“I’m sorry, man,” he said after he calmed down, wiping the tears from his eyes. “But you gotta admit, that was pretty funny.”

“Ha ha. I’m glad you enjoy my pain,” Bruce said, deadpan.

Clint grinned, and Bruce couldn’t find it in himself to dislike the man.

“Here, I’ll send you the invite. What’s your handle?”

Bruce rattled it off, and Clint sent him the link with a, “Whoosh. There you go.”   
  


Bruce looked down at his phone and at the invite.

  
  


**The Iron Giant  
** *19 members   
*7 online

—> Welcome,  **Bruce Banner** . We’ve been expecting you. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

** [Search      ] @ ?   
** **|      ONLINE - 7**

**\/ WOOHOO               +  
** # **crew-shenanigans**

**Jim Rhodes** Today at 4:37 PM  
Hello, Bruce.

**Natasha R.** Today at 4:37 PM  
Welcome.

**that’s captain to you** Today at 4:38 PM  
Bruce! YOU’RE HERE

**squawkguy** Today at 4:38 PM  
LMAO tony have I got a story for you

  
  


Bruce sighed. This was going to be a long journey, indeed.


	6. All Hands on Deck!

Bruce settled into crew life after several days. He could now navigate the ship by himself and other crew members greeted him happily each morning. He was feeling less and less like the new guy everyday. His duties aboard the ship kept him busy leaving barely any leisure time and any time he did have free was often spent getting to know his other crew members. 

He still made an effort to keep in contact with Tank where possible but had to keep his Hammertech phone hidden incase Tony spotted it again. Bruce was sure Tony would throw it overboard if he spotted him using it. 

He had been on board nearly a week yet on this particular night he found it hard to settle in bed, tossing and turning for an hour before deciding he probably wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon. Checking his phone he saw that Tank was set to:  _ Do Not Disturb _ , so he decided now probably wasn’t the best time to try and start up a conversation. Instead he pulled on his shoes and jacket and decided a walk up on deck would be best.

Making his way up onto deck, Bruce noticed just how dark it was out here. There were no lights from the city, just the moonlight when it peeked through the clouds and the stars as they shone in the sky. It was beautiful, nothing between them and the infinite reach of space. Everything felt so still, the sails were rolled up and the engines barely made a sound as the ship remained suspended in the air. 

“Couldn’t sleep?”

The voice made Bruce jump. Looking around he spotted Tony, sitting on the side of the ship, legs dangling over the edge and staring up at sky. 

“Yeah,” Bruce admitted and found himself smiling at the sight of Tony.

Tony patted the space next to him, indicating that Bruce should sit beside him. Bruce rushed over, a little too eagerly. 

He felt a little uneasy at first as he swung his legs over the side of the ship, nothing but darkness below them made him realise that slipping would be the last thing he ever did. As if reading his mind, Tony offered his hand and gave Bruce something to grip as he positioned himself at his side. Bruce noticed that Tony withdrew his hand a little slower than he could have. 

They didn’t say anything, just continued to look out at the stars that stretched across the sky as the wind gently blew against them. Bruce found the silence, calming, he always worried so much about what he should say to fill the silence or worried about apologising for saying the wrong thing but right now just sitting beside Tony without saying a word, it was enough. He had never had anyone like this, someone to just  _ be  _ with. 

“Why did you join my crew?” Tony asked eventually, breaking the silence. His voice wasn’t demanding, or mischievous like it so often was, he sounded almost sad. 

“Because you asked me,” Bruce replied without thinking. He didn’t really know how else to answer. 

“No, you already knew you were coming with me by then. Why?” Tony, looked at him now and it was clear that the man was holding something back. 

Bruce sat in silence, thinking to himself about the answer. It was true it hadn’t taken much for Tony to convince him but at what point had he really decided?

“Was it my ship?” Tony asked. “Just a chance to work with my tech?” 

“No!” Bruce replied quickly. “I mean, it was a contributing factor but…not the only reason…” Bruce’s face went red suddenly realising how his words could be interpreted. “I mean, when we met on the dock, I was surprised by how easily we were able to communicate. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not the best with people.”

Tony turned to Bruce, a suspicious look on his face but it left as quickly as it came. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m too forward, maybe I scare people off too easily.” Tony broke his gaze and turned back to stare ahead of them. 

“What are you talking about? Look at all the people that follow you.” Bruce gestured behind them to indicate the ship. 

“Not people like that, they don’t matter.” 

Bruce suddenly felt a sinking feeling. 

“What about me? Do I matter?” He realised how pathetic it sounded as soon as he said it but the idea that Tony didn’t care about his presence hurt more than it should have.

“Of course you matter!” Tony replied urgently, seizing Bruce’s hand. “That’s what I mean! Imagine if I scared you away because I was so obsessed with showing off rather than just saying what was important.” 

“Tony, I-” Bruce began but was interrupted as the were both thrown into darkness, the moon becoming obscured by thick clouds.

Suddenly the wind picked up and Bruce had to grip the edge of the ship to stop himself being blown around. Bruce could barely make out Tony’s features in the darkness but there was no doubting that the man had suddenly gone rigid.

“A storm coming in perhaps?” Bruce asked.

“Shh!” Tony hissed and Bruce could see now that something had his attention. Bruce followed his intense stare out into the inky blackness but couldn’t see anything. 

A loud crack of thunder suddenly sounded all around them, followed by a flash of lightning that caused Bruce to jump in alarm. But Tony was quick and his arms shot up to steady Bruce before he could fall. Tony’s grip was tight around him and Bruce thought it was odd that Tony was overreacting so much to a simple storm, they must get them all the time out here.

“Tony, what’s wrong? It’s just a storm,” Bruce said, placing his own hand comfortingly on Tony’s.

Another crack of thunder sounded and this time it was followed by a long drawn out rumble. 

“It’s not a storm,” Tony replied turning to look Bruce in eyes. 

Bruce could see concern in his face but before he could question Tony further, the Captain had swung his legs back around onto the deck of the ship. Running across the deck Tony reached a large bell at the base of one of the masts. 

He begun to ring it fiercely. 

“ALL HANDS ON DECK,” he bellowed as the piercing sound of the bell filled the air. There would be no chance that anyone wouldn’t have heard him.

Beneath him Bruce could hear scuffling and banging as crew members were clearly waking up and scrambling to their positions. It wasn’t long before crew members were rushing everywhere. 

The cabin boy, Peter, appeared out of nowhere and was helping Tony on with his jacket and hat, Rhodey had also appeared and was yelling at deck hands as they unfurled the sails. 

“Bruce!” Tony yelled, running across the deck to him. “Things are about to get a bit crazy out here.”

“What can I do to help?” Bruce asked, not sure what he should do. 

“You’re the science officer, do science stuff! Get down to your office and measure the atmospheric interference the storm has on the engines.”

“Oh, right!” Bruce begun to head towards the door but felt Tony’s hand reach out and seize his wrist. Tony pulled him in close so he could whisper into Bruce’s ear.

“Lock the door and don’t answer to anyone but me.” 

Bruce pulled away and gave Tony a questioning look.

“What, why?”

“Don’t question me, it’s an order.”

“But-” Bruce began to argue.

“That is an  _ order _ , Doctor Banner.”

Bruce did as he was instructed and ran towards the hatch that led down towards his lab. Once inside, he slammed the door closed behind himself and locked it. He still wasn’t sure what Tony considered so dangerous that he needed to keep the door locked, nevertheless he obeyed. 

Bruce dug around the cupboards until he found his atmospheric equipment. Pushing open the window to his lab he unfolded a shelf attachment and set up the anemometer, transmissometer and the lightning detector. Switching on the lightning detector he was alerted by the computer that the other detectors around the ship were also activated. He was thankful that his predecessor had set up equipment around the ship already. Clearly this was an area of research they had been interested in. 

Another crack of thunder followed by a flash of lightning which sent a flood of data to Bruce’s terminal. Staring at the incoming data Bruce frowned, this couldn’t be right, the equipment must be faulty. The readings were all over the place, nothing like what he had expected. 

“It’s artificial,” Bruce whispered to himself. “It’s not a real storm.”

He watched as the data continued to stream in, double checking everything as it appeared, adamant to figure out if what he was seeing was real or not. Perhaps the equipment hadn’t been calibrated properly? Above him on deck he could hear shouting and movement as the crew braced themselves for whatever was out there. Clearly Tony had some idea what they were up against, he had known it wasn’t a real storm the second he heard the first crack of thunder. If only he had bothered to explain to Bruce what was going on, there wouldn’t need to be all this guess work. 

As another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, Bruce looked out of the window just in time to see the silhouette of another boat against the clouds. The shadow of a huge dragon’s head could be seen amongst the clouds as the lightning continued to light up the sky. 

It was different to their ship, smaller, and of a much different design but no less impressive. As it breached the edge of the clouds Bruce could see the ornate dragon figurehead that was carved into the front of it. 

Overhead a large bang echoed, shaking the entire ship and Bruce had to brace himself against the desk in order to stop himself from falling over. They must have been firing on the approaching ship. Without warning the enemies returned fire, an arch of lightning erupting from the bow of their ship and arching through the sky, landing a direct hit on Tony’s ship. 

This time Bruce was thrown to the floor, unprepared for how much force they were being hit with. All around him the equipment started beeping and filling the room with alerts of incoming data. It was a matter of seconds before the ship shuddered once again as they continued their own assault on the enemy ship.

He pulled himself onto his knees, resting his head on the desk to get a look at the damage report. The damage however, if he was reading this properly, was minimal. In fact it appeared to have the opposite effect, the engines were charging at an alarming rate. Bruce clung onto the desk as another barrage of lighting hit them. He craned his head to look out the window saw that the other ship had closed the gap between them, enough so that he could faintly make out enemies attempting to jump the gap onto the deck of his ship.

Trying to ignore what was going on outside he focused on the task at hand, the engines were receiving a considerable boost in power everytime this artificial lightning hit the ship. Even their shields were up fifty percent despite the heavy hits they were taking, the only problem was, they weren’t using enough of the excess energy.

“If the ship doesn’t burn off enough excess energy…the engines could explode!” Bruce yelled in realisation. 

He couldn’t reroute power from here though, only something like that could be done from the engine room, which was several decks below. He’d have to go outside. Could he risk it? Would he be safe below deck if the fighting was all happening above? 

He hadn’t signed up for this. No one had mentioned heated combat with an enemy vessel  would be an occurrence within his first week, he was supposed to build up into these kind of situations. Was this what it was going to be like all the time? An aerial battle every other day while he hid in his office measuring air currents?  

Another blast to the side of the ship sent him tumbling to the floor once again and this time he made no attempt to get back on his feet. 

Perhaps he had been too quick to accept this position after all. He had let himself get so caught up in the romanticism of it all that he had stopped to focus on the reality. He had left his home and his old life simply because Tony had paid him a compliment and battered his eyes at him?

“Nice going, Banner,” he scoffed at himself. “You’ve really done it this time.” 

Suddenly, cutting through the sound of the battle came a knock on the door. Bruce froze, remembering Tony’s instructions:  _ Don’t answer to anyone but me. _

He remained silent, not moving from his position, curled up on the floor. Then, much to his surprise he felt his Starkphone vibrate. Slowly Bruce reached into his pocket and withdrew the device, staring at the message he had just received.

**that’s captain to you** Today at 1:16 AM  
Open up, it’s me.


	7. B L O C K E D

Bruce clicked his phone shut, waiting for the ship to stop shaking before he even attempted to stand up. He grasped one of the nearby counters to steady himself—at some point he would probably have to address the fact that he had the physique of a computer nerd and not that of a swashbuckling buccaneer. Curse his tendency to hunch over lit screens instead of…doing sit ups or whatever it was fit people did. There was another, less patient knock and Bruce shook himself out of it. He could think about improving his core muscles at another time—such as when they weren’t currently being _shot at_. Making his way over to the door, he undid the latch and swung it open.

The scuffle that ensued could barely be considered a fight. In fact, it was rather lame for his first encounter with an enemy pirate and he had a brief moment to wonder if one of the surveillance cams had caught the embarrassing display. He’d make sure to erase the footage if he made it out of this alive.

His last thought before he was knocked over the head was, _Yeah, I probably should have worked out more._

  
  


Bruce woke up with a massive headache. The only time in his life he had ever felt this way was the day after—

_Crap!_

He sat up in a hurry and groaned when it only made the throbbing in his skull worse. He blinked the spots out of his eyes and tried to regain his bearings, cataloguing the room he was in. It was nothing like his room in the Iron Giant, all glass and metal—elegant in its own way, but with none of the fuss of a traditional pirate ship. But this room had wooden furnishings covered in…were those _runes_? There was an ornate gold finish on most of the furniture, and there were huge swords displayed on the walls.

But there was also a computer, and the techie in Bruce breathed a sigh of relief at the familiarity.

Someone cleared their throat in the corner of the room and Bruce’s head snapped in their direction. It turned out to be a woman taking a swig out of a bottle of spirits, less trying to grab his attention and more expressing her enjoyment at the taste of the liquor.

He blinked at her. She blinked back.

“Um,” he said intelligently. “Where, uh, where am I? Who are you?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, taking another swig. “Boy, Loki sure did a number on you. You don’t remember? We attacked your ship,” she stated matter of fact, as if she didn’t just admit that she was his enemy and kidnapper.

This Loki must’ve hit him on the head hard, because as the woman stood up and swaggered over to him, all he could think was, _Goddess! Fierce! Beautiful!!_ It was certainly the reaction she deserved, he thought as he nodded to himself.

“You did manage to give him quite the shiner, though. And you _bit him_. I like you,” she said, grinning, her previous impassivity gone in an instant.

Bruce smiled brightly back at her.

Their moment was interrupted when a man entered the room, followed by—

“You!” Bruce said in outrage, pointing at the man who had hit him over the head.

This must be Loki. True enough, he had the beginnings of a black eye, and Bruce was viciously smug that he had been the one to put it there. Loki just narrowed his eyes at him, raising an eyebrow and trying to look unaffected, although the look was undercut by the swelling on his face.

The other man who came in laughed heartily. “Yes, apologies for the rough introduction—”

“Banner,” Loki supplied.

“Banner! Right. Welcome aboard the Statesman.”

“Welcome?!” Bruce sputtered. “You kidnapped me!”

The man winced. “Yes, my apologies for that. We were rather desperate, you see. My name is Thor Odinson, and I am the captain of this ship. This is my brother and first mate, Loki,” at this he gestured to the man who looked absolutely nothing like him, “and this is Valkyrie.” He pointed at the woman.

Bruce was about to interrupt indignantly, but the look on Thor’s face stopped him.

“I understand you must be angry and confused, but please hear me out. I beg of you,” Thor pleaded, and Bruce found he couldn’t say no.

He nodded slowly, but stayed wary of them.

Thor smiled in relief. “As I said, I was desperate. We come from a land called Asgard, on the far edge of the continent.”  
  
Bruce blinked again. Of course he had heard of Asgard—it was renowned for the incredible craftsmanship of the airships they produced, rivaled only perhaps by the country of Wakanda.

Thor continued, “My people were cast out of Asgard by my sister, and we cannot return even if we wished to. Asgard has burned to the ground.” His eyes darkened. “When we got news that Stark had gained a new science officer, I knew we had to act quickly. There was no time to bargain with him, so we decided that it was better to—hm. Beg for forgiveness instead of ask for permission?”

Bruce’s brow furrowed. “But why? What was so important that you had to pick a fight with our ship?”

Thor looked grave. “The fate of my people, Banner.”

  
  


As Thor went through his explanation, Bruce began to understand the severity of the situation.

“...what you’re asking of me—it’s impossible, Thor. A ship that can survive in the air without landing for a _year_? Why can’t you just seek refuge in another country?”

“Asgard’s people are stalwart and resilient. We must be able to recover from this blow on our own.”

“So, _pride_?” Bruce couldn’t believe his ears.

Thor looked at him patiently. “It is not pride, Banner. Asgard has made many enemies over the years, and there are plenty who would relish seeing us fall. Before we make amends and start building bridges, we need to focus on rebuilding—strengthening our character and changing the mindset that we have been raised with. We need to establish our identity again.”  
  
Bruce squinted at him. “I’m just saying that there are plenty, _simpler_ ways to go about doing this.”

Thor gave him a helpless expression and shrugged. “Would it convince you to provide us with aid if I told you this ship is days away from careening out of the sky?”

“ _What_.”

  
  


Bruce looked at the mess in front of him. “How are we still in the air?” he asked incredulously.

Thor shrugged at him again. “You tell me.”

Bruce gawked as he studied the equipment. Everything was there—in fact, most of this technology was amazing—they just didn’t know what to _do_ with it.

The artificial storm machine was actually made of multiple steel ionizers that produced charged particles, causing the negatively charged ions to rise with the hot air. This attracted dust, around which moisture then condensed, eventually producing a rain cloud. It effectively controlled the weather within a certain radius. It was impressive, and unheard of.

“I can’t possibly work with this thing,” Bruce said, even as he examined the parts of the machine and cataloguing their functions.

Thor just gave Bruce a knowing look at his show of enthusiasm.

“I mean, in theory it could be done, creating a self-sustaining energy source powered only by what’s harnessed from the storm. But for that we would need—” His eyes widened. “...a machine that could harness and channel gamma rays,” he mumbled as he stared right at a machine that could do exactly that.

Thor approached and came to stand by his side as he trailed a hand over it. “Banner?”

“This was my research,” he said distantly, lost in his memories. “I spent my whole life trying to create a gamma engine and I _failed_ . It’s just not possible.”  
  
Thor tilted his head. “Then why do you look as though you are unsure of that?”

_Your theories on gamma radiation engines were genius_ , Tony had said.

_You would have changed the world._

Bruce took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, not looking away from the machine. “You might want to leave the room,” he told Thor. “I don’t like having people around when I’m working.”

  
  


Bruce didn’t know how long he’d been working when someone entered the room.

“I told you, I need to concentrate,” he said without turning around. “I almost have it.”

“Even you need a break, Banner,” he said smoothly, nothing like Thor’s rough tones.

He whirled around and his eyebrows furrowed. “Loki.”

Loki barely gave his glare any mind as he approached the machine he was stationed at, hands clasped behind his back as his eyes roamed the readings on the screen. “You said you were getting close?”

He didn’t relax, but he focused on working again. “…yeah. In a while I’ll start up a storm to see if this works. I mean, it should, but…”

Loki made a curious sound, but Bruce didn’t trust the innocent look in his eyes. “You seem rather familiar with all this.”

“I’m a science officer,” he gritted out. “Of course I am.”

“Yes, but I’ve never heard of an engine powered by gamma energy.”

Bruce stilled for a moment, but then continued tapping away. “That’s because it doesn’t exist. Yet.”

He could see the sly smile on Loki’s face from the corner of his eye. “You mean to say you had the idea for a theoretical gamma engine lying around somewhere, Professor Banner?”

His head snapped up. “You know who I am.”

Loki hummed. “Of course,” he said, shrugging. “I wouldn’t let just any second-rate scientist mess around with our ship.”

Bruce bristled. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly doing this by choice—” he began before freezing suddenly.

“Hm?”

“My phone,” he said, looking panicked, “give it back.”

Loki tilted his head at him.

How could Bruce have forgotten? Here he was, working on this project while the others had no idea what had happened to him. Tony must’ve been _furious_. He had to get in touch with him right now.

“Loki—” Bruce said more urgently, but thankfully Loki was already handing him the phone.

Bruce put down his tools and wiped his hands on his trousers, for a moment fumbling with the device. He brought up the app and as soon as it loaded his eyes widened.

“What did you…?”

But Loki had walked away with quick strides and the door was already closing. Bruce heard the sound of a latch clicking shut.

He moved to the door and, sure enough, it was locked. He cursed, looking back down at his Starkphone.

Loki had left the server, and Bruce was stuck with no way to contact the others.

  
  


**@Auxetic Titan**

**Feynman** Today at 10:57 PM  
Are you there?

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:01 PM  
What do you want?

 

Bruce frowned.

 

**Feynman** Today at 11:01 PM  
I just wanted to talk to you.

Is something wro|  
Is somet|  
Is|

Why are you angry with me?

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:03 PM  
I’m not angry, it’s just not a good time.

**Feynman** Today at 11:04 PM  
You could have just said so. I’ll leave you alone then.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:05 PM  
No. It’s fine. What did you want?

**Feynman** Today at 11:07 PM  
I just needed someone to talk to, okay? And I thought that could be you. It’s not important.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:08 PM  
I already said yes. Just tell me what you wanted to talk about

**…Feynman is typing** …

**Feynman** Today at 11:11 PM  
I got myself into trouble, and now I don’t know what to do.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:14 PM  
What kind of trouble

 

Bruce paused as he realized he couldn’t actually say that he had been kidnapped by enemy pirates and was currently locked in a room on an airship that might crash to the ground at any moment.

 

**Feynman** Today at 11:17 PM  
I kind of

ajilsfdals;ksh|  
ajilsfd|  
a|

It’s a work thing. There’s a problem I’m stuck on, and I thought that maybe I could bounce ideas off you.

 

The minutes ticked by, but there was no answer.

 

**Feynman** Today at 11:25 PM  
Tank?

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:29 PM  
Sorry.  
Just ask someone else  
I’m in the middle of something important

 

_Excuse me?_ Bruce swallowed his hurt and typed a reply before he could stop himself.

 

**Feynman** Today at 11:29 PM  
Sorry to bother you with something stupid. Won’t do it again.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:32 PM  
Can you give me a break?  
Don’t be angry just bec there’s something else I need to do

**Feynman** Today at 11:33 PM  
I wasn’t angry. I just said sorry.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:36 PM  
Right.  
because that wasn’t passive aggressive at all.

**Feynman** Today at 11:37 PM  
I wasn’t being passive aggressive.

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:39 PM  
Okay

**Feynman** Today at 11:40 PM  
I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. I said it wasn’t important, and you asked anyway.

**…Auxetic Titan is typing** …

**Feynman** Today at 11:41 PM  
Forget it okay  
I’ll leave you alone.

**…Auxetic Titan is typing** …

**…Auxetic Titan is typing** …

**…Auxetic Titan is typing** …

**Auxetic Titan** Today at 11:45 PM  
Yeah fine.

  
  


Gmail Images Apps Notifs Account  
**Bruce Banner  
**rbbanner@kingscollege.edu

 

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**How to Pick a Lock Using a Paperclip: 9 Steps (with Pictures)  
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Bruce picked the lock in record time. Thank you, wikihow.

Screw this, he wasn’t going to be used by Loki. He’d get to the ship’s controls and figure out a way to send a distress signal, some kind of beacon that would alert Tony and the others to where he was.

Just as he was about to turn the corner, he heard voices and quickly pressed his back against the wall.

It was Thor and Loki, speaking in hushed voices. Crap, he couldn’t let himself be seen by those two. He strained to listen to what they were saying to see if they were likely to leave anytime soon.

“…will work, brother. She and Banner work in the same department—we will convince him to speak with her, and you will get her back. Now stop moping, she broke up with you ages ago.”

“I am not _moping_. Besides, it was a mutual dumping.”

“She was beneath you, anyway.”

“Jane is brilliant!”

Wait.

Bruce poked his head into the hallway, pushing away from the wall. He interrupted their conversation. “Did you just say Jane? As in Jane Foster?”

Thor turned, startled. Loki just glared.

“Ah, um—yes! So it is true, then? You do know her?”

Bruce squinted at him, incredulous. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you serious? You kidnapped me so I could talk your ex into getting back together with you?”

“No, of course not—” “Pretty much, yeah.”

Thor’s head swiveled in Loki’s direction while Loki just stared impassively at Bruce.  
  
Bruce made an indignant noise. Thor quickly backtracked.

“The engine truly is failing, don’t worry!”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?!”

Loki cut in before they dissolved into hysterics. “Banner, have you finished the gamma engine?”  
  
“No.” Bruce glared at him. “And I’m not going to. You left the server, and now I can’t contact my ship. I don’t care about your stupid engine. If you don’t let me contact them right now, I’ll give you another black eye to match that one.” He pointed at Loki’s face. It was a ridiculous threat; there was no way he could take down the two of them anyway.

“Ahem.”

The three of them turned to see Valkyrie standing a few feet away, raising an eyebrow. “Listen, boys. While I’d love to hear the rest of this lovely conversation, we’re losing altitude. Fast.” She turned to Bruce, who had paled. “You gonna do something about it?”

Bruce sprinted back to the engine room while the other two scrambled to their stations.

  
  


Bruce was trying not to panic, but it wasn’t really working so well. “Need a drink?”

He startled, not realizing he wasn’t alone in the room. “Oh, um, no thank you.”

Valkyrie shrugged, saying, “More for me.”

They spent a few minutes in silence, all the better for Bruce to concentrate. He was so _close_. He wouldn’t have time for a dry run anymore; actually they wouldn’t have time for much else if he didn’t get this set up now.

“Oh, man, is that _Hammertech_? I haven’t seen one of these in years,” Val said, grabbing the phone he had left on the counter. Bruce meeped.

“Wait, no—” he started, but she had already started to scroll through the conversation with Tank. Curse him and his lack of passcodes.

She tsked. “Trouble in paradise?” She scrolled up even further, raising her eyebrows. “Well aren’t you cute.”

Bruce groaned, moving to swipe it out of her hands but she just leaned away without looking up. A beeping from the machines drew his attention back to his work.

“…we’re not—it wasn’t a fight. He was just busy.”

Valkyrie hummed.

“I mean, it doesn’t even bother me. It’s just…we’ve never spoken like that before.” His brow furrowed and he sighed. “I pushed too hard, didn’t I. I never know how to act with people, it’s probably why I don’t have any friends.” Bruce tried to laugh it off, hunching over his station.

“You can’t be that bad with people,” Val said, and when Bruce looked over she hadn’t even spared him a glance. “I mean, you deal with Stark on a regular basis.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed even more. “Tony’s not difficult to deal with.”

At that, she scoffed. “Stark is _notoriously_ difficult to deal with. If you haven’t noticed that, you must be a saint.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Bruce protested. “You don’t know him.”

“I’m just saying.” She shrugged.

“No, really—Tony’s thoughtful, and he’s brave and brilliant and he’s fearless. I would never have gathered the courage to join an airship crew if he hadn’t convinced me,” at this he swallowed, “that I was worth following my dream. That I had it in me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Bruce admitted, just realizing it himself. “…I need to go back to him. I don’t want to leave things like this between us.” Was he still talking about Tony?

His feelings were getting mixed up, and he couldn’t focus. He was torn with guilt over two things—at the fact that he had gotten so careless, getting himself kidnapped and causing trouble for Tony, and the fact that he had taken it out on Tank, who was his friend. Both of them had been nothing but kind to Bruce, and here he was messing up left and right.

Bruce noticed Valkyrie staring at him from the corner of his eye, but he was too caught up in his thoughts. If he wanted to make things right between them, then he had to get his shit together and, for once in his life, he couldn’t give up on something just because things got hard. Tank and Tony were worth it. This idea was worth it.

A few minutes later, he felt the telltale twist in his stomach that meant they were falling. They didn’t have anymore time. Thankfully, they didn’t need it. The engine was done, and he powered up the weather machine to harness the gamma rays. He held his breath, counting backwards from ten.

He had reached three before there was an abrupt jerk, and his eyes scanned the readings quickly. A grin broke out on his face.

The first gamma engine in existence.

_How’s that for changing the world?_


	8. Hoist the Colours

The next day he stepped up onto the deck with a new found confidence, they were in the air, and it was all thanks to him. The sun was high in the sky and although his problems with Tank and Tony still troubled him, he was doing his best not to let them cloud this moment. He had finally realised his dream and he needed to focus on that.

Valkyrie had given him some spare clothes and now he looked just like one of the Asgardians. He had to admit that leather armour was not his style, but he liked the intricate metal work that decorated it. Valkyrie had  _ insisted _ on the leather wrist guards too, and the short purple cape that connected from his shoulder to waist. He felt it was all incredibly impractical overall, but was glad to be out of the clothes he had been wearing for the past several days. It would have to do until he could get back to his cabin on Tony’s ship. 

He climbed the steps to the upper deck, where he could see Thor and Valkyrie standing together. Their first trial run of the storm machine had been a success and the engines were fully charged once again. 

“Banner!” Thor greeted jovially from the helm. “Your new engine is amazing. Even better than our old one. We owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Well…now that I’ve helped, I would like to return to my ship.”

Thor’s face dropped slightly but he recovered quickly. “Are you sure? You’re welcome to stay here with us. We’d love to have you on board.” 

“Plenty of room,” Valkyrie agreed. “And your knowledge would be invaluable to us and our people. 

“You’re even dressed the part already!” Thor observed, indicating Bruce’s new outfit. “It suits you.” 

Bruce was taken aback, he had only just gotten over the fact that Tony had taken him aboard his ship, and now he was receiving another offer. “Thor, I’d love to but-”

“Excellent!” Thor boomed, clapping him on the back. “Banner this is wonderful news.”

“No, I-” Bruce tried to explain but Thor was dragging him down onto the main deck already. 

“Everyone!” Thor yelled to all those that were around him. “I have something exciting to tell all of you!”

“Thor, stop,” Bruce tried to say but before he could get the words out a whistle sounded from overhead. 

“Starboard side!” Heimdall roared from the crow’s nest overhead. “Enemy ship!” 

Thor was running to the edge of the ship now, pulling out a spyglass from his pocket. He raised it and peered through in the direction of that Heimdall had pointed. 

“No...no…” He whispered. Bruce could hear the fear in his voice.

Thor didn’t strike him as the kind of man who scared easily. At first Bruce thought it might have been Tony coming to ‘rescue’ him but Thor wouldn’t be scared of Tony, not like this. 

“Who is it?” Loki asked tentatively, appearing at Thor's side. 

“Hela… and the Fenris,” Thor responded lowering the spyglass. “Come to finish what she started.”

A murmur of fear was spreading through the crowd around them. 

“What do we do, Captain?” Valkyrie asked, staying firm at his side. 

“We don’t stand a chance of outrunning her, even with Banner’s new engine. So we do our duty,” Thor stated stoically. “We fight.” 

Things were a blur of activity as crew members ushered civilians below deck and ran to their positions as Thor and Loki bellowed orders at them. Bruce kept out the way. How was it that in such a short time he was caught up in another conflict? He had figured he would be back on his ship before too long but now threat of Hela meant that might not even happen. 

But this time he didn’t want to stay locked away down below. It had ended terribly last time and he had felt so isolated. None of the Asgardians were paying attention to him, they were all far to busy preparing themselves.

The Fenris was bearing down on them now and although it was an enemy ship Bruce marveled at the black wood and the dark green sails that billowed in the wind.  

Bruce spotted a woman standing proudly on the edge of the ship dressed all in black and looking fierce, he assumed that must be Hela.

“Baby brother!” She yelled. “This is your last warning. Bow to me and I will let you all live, then together, we will take over these skies just as father always intended.”

“Never,” Thor yelled back. “We want no part of your blood thirsty conquest, all we want is to live in peace.” 

“Refuse me and I will tear your ship to pieces along with every last person on it,” she threatened.

Bruce swallowed. He could tell and Hela wouldn’t take time to question who he was in the heat of the battle, he would share the same fate as the Asgardians. He suddenly regretted his feud with Tank the night before, if this really was it then he wouldn’t get a chance to apologise, to tell his friend how much he actually meant to him. 

And Tony, he wouldn’t see him again, wouldn’t thank him for pulling him out into this world and away from the life he had resigned himself too. 

“You heard me, Hela,” Thor replied boldy. “Asgard’s people are not yours to command. FIRE!”

On Thor’s command an arc of lightning cracked through the air and hit the side of the Fenris, causing Hela to stumble as the ship tilted off balance. Bruce could see that although it looked like the attack was successful, it had barely penetrated the shields. 

“So be it,” Hela screeched. “Get them!” 

Hela’s crew were swinging across on ropes now, jumping onto the deck of the Statesmen with their swords drawn. They wore skeletal armor and looked almost like an army of living dead, no doubt an intimidation tactic. It was clear that the Asgardians were vastly outnumbered compared to Hela’s numbers.

One landed near Bruce and raised their sword, advancing towards him. He held up his arms in front of his face as it swung at him but the blow never came. Looking up he saw Valkyrie, standing over him and blocking the attack. She retaliated and drove her blade through the attackers gut. 

“What are you doing up here?” She asked. “Get below deck!”

“I can’t just leave all of you,” Bruce protested.

Another enemy approached them but Valkyrie cut them down before they could block. “If you don’t know how to defend yourself then you’re in the way.” 

Bruce knew she was being honest but he was still hurt by the implication there was nothing he could do. 

“I’m sorry you’ve been caught up in all this,” she added. “We didn’t know Hela would chase us and you’ve just been dragged in the middle of it. You deserved better.”

Without another word she jumped into the frey, knocking some of Hela’s crew over before unleashing her blade on another. 

Bruce looked around, there were fights breaking out all over the decks as Hela’s crew invaded the Statesmen. Valkyrie was right, there was nothing he could do in a fight like this. Except… 

He crawled out of sight behind some barrels on the starboard side and looked over the railing towards Hela’s ship. The lighting gun fired shots intermittently but did nothing to breach the shields, they didn’t have the power needed to bring it down and it wasn’t helping that the Storm machine wasn’t on to offer them full power. Bruce did the calculations in his head, even with the increased power of the Gamma engine, it wouldn’t be enough against Hela’s ship. If there was something he could do to boost the power of the lightning cannon, then maybe they could bring Hela’s ship down and she would be forced to surrender. 

His attention was drawn behind him as he noticed that Hela was now on the deck of the Statesmen. Her and Thor were circling each other in the center of the deck, eyes locked. Some of the fighters nearby had stopped and were watching, waiting for any instruction their captain might give. 

“You’re outnumbered,” Hela boasted. “Surrender yet?” 

“Not as long as there's air in my lungs,” Thor replied. 

“Well, I’ve got a solution for that.” Hela dove at him, a sword in each hand raised and ready to strike. 

Thor dodged her first attack and responded with a swing of his mighty war hammer. Their weapons clashed as she blocked his attack and Bruce could see the strain in Thor’s face as he kept her at bay. Hela looked like she was barely breaking a sweat. She pushed him down and swung at him with a balde, catching his side as he tried to roll away. Thor yelled in pain but recovered quickly, jumping back to his feet and swinging his hammer at her side. This time he caught her and it was clear that her anger was growing. She unleashed a relentless assault on him. 

Bruce could see that Loki and Valkyrie were both desperately trying to reach Thor but were caught up in their own fights. Thor was on his own. 

A well placed sweep to the leg knocked Thor off his feet and he tumbled to the ground. Hela was quick, stepping on his wrist to force the hammer out of his grip. She lowered a the point of her blade to his throat, grinning down at him. 

“You were a fool to think you could beat me. Look around little brother, at all the lives you could have spared if you hadn’t been so arrogant.” 

Bruce held his breath, paralysed by fear. He wanted to help Thor, but what could he do really? He was weaponless and there was no way he stood a chance against Hela. 

She raised her sword, about to strike Thor when a familiar sound erupted through the air and Hela was thrown roughly off of her feet, slamming into the central mast. Bruce looked overhead, he had to shield his eyes from the sun to see it, there approaching in the path of the sun, The Iron Giant.

No one had noticed their approach due to the glare of the sun intentionally hiding them, a masterful tactic Bruce had to admit. Now the Giant was swooping in overhead and Bruce saw the unmistakable shape of Tony standing on the bow. As they dove past more shots from the repulsor cannons sounded and some of Hela’s men were blown off of the Statesmen. 

There was general confusion now on the deck of the Statesmen at the unexpected arrival of the third ship and Hela was clearly furious at the surprise arrival of theses new opponents.

“Stark!” She screeched over the sounds of the battle. 

Tony must have taken that as his cue to enter the fight. Bruce watched as Tony seized a rope and dove of the bow of his ship, sailing through the air and landing gracefully in front of Hela, sword raised. His outfit was impeccable as always, the gold buttons on his jacket gleaming in the sunlight and his captain’s hat sitting perfectly on his head. He really did know how to make an entrance. 

“The one and only,” Tony said with a grin. He eyed Hela up and down before turning his attention to Thor. “You took something that belongs to me,” he stated. 

“In case you haven’t noticed right now, Stark, I am busy with something far more important.” Thor shot back. Finally climbing back to his feet and lifting his hammer off of the deck.

“Then you won’t have a problem giving him back!” Tony dove at Thor with his weapon raised. Thor’s hammer was easily able to deflect the blow. 

“Stark, we are not enemies,” Thor tried to say. 

“Says the guy who ambushed my ship and kidnapped my science officer.” 

“To be honest, I don’t think he was happy working for you. You see, I asked Banner to stay on board as part of my crew,” Thor bragged as he blocked one of Tony’s attacks. “And do you know what he said?” 

Tony stopped for a moment, Bruce could see a concerned look on his face. 

“Let’s just say that once again I think the Iron Giant is in the market for a new science officer.” 

Tony let out a scream of anger as he dived at Thor and sent another flurry of attacks at Thor, putting him on the defensive. Thor was quick to retaliate and force Tony to dance around his heavy swings of the hammer. 

The two went back and forth like this until Hela screamed, “Enough!” and dived at them.   

Tony was quick though, dodging her attack and stepping around to counter with his own as Thor took the brunt of the hit from Hela. Now all of them were engaged in a three way melee, spinning weaving and countering each others attacks as their weapons clashed.

Bruce watched breathlessly at the way Tony moved, his footwork was impeccable and it was clear that the others couldn’t keep up with him in that regard. Thor was all raw power, swinging his hammer wildy around while Hela was clearly so blinded by anger that she wasn’t sure which one of them to focus on.

Bruce could see it now; that Tony’s attention wasn’t solely on the fight, as he ducked and weaved past attacks his eyes were skimming the crowd, looking for something. 

_ Me _ , Bruce thought.  _ Tony is looking for me. _

Against his better judgement, Bruce climbed up onto the barrels he had been hiding behind so that he was standing above the crowd. 

“Tony!” He yelled over the sound of the battle.

Tony’s eyes snapped to him instantly there was a flash of relief on his face. For a moment Bruce didn’t see or hear anything else, the only thing that existed was Tony, standing there, gazing up at him. But then Bruce saw Tony’s expression drop, and the moment was broken between them as he looked Bruce up and down. Bruce looked down at himself and remembered that he was wearing Asgardian clothing and the realisation dawned on him. He had to explain, about the server, about the clothes, what Thor had said, it wasn’t what it looked like. 

Bruce saw that Tony’s gaze had lingered on him just too long. “Tony, behind you!” He yelled. But Tony turned too slowly and he was caught off guard by a kick from Hela. 

Tony grunted as Hela’s foot hit him square in the chest and he stumbled back, losing his balance and falling over. 

Hela wasted no time plunging her sword into Tony’s exposed body.

“NO!” Bruce screamed as he saw Tony gasp at the shock of the blade entering him.  

Thor dove in with his own attack at Hela, drawing her attention away so she didn’t have time for a follow up attack on Tony. But Tony laid alone and vulnerable on the deck, gasping and pressing his hands at where the wound was, trying to stop the bleeding.

“Tony!” Bruce cried out. He had to try and get to him. A crowd of enemies stood between them but he didn’t care, jumping down from the barrels as he tired to push past an enemy. Barely dodging an attack, he stumbled backwards, at this rate he wouldn’t be able to make across the ship.  

“You can cry over your boyfriend later!” Valkyrie yelled at him from nearby. She cut down the enemies between them and ran to his side. “We can’t keep this up, even with Stark’s reinforcements.”   

“No, I have to help him!” Bruce protested, trying to push past her and holding back tears.

“You won’t be any help if we don’t end this fight soon. She’ll kill all of us.” 

Bruce looked around them, it was true. He had to think of something quick. Losing Tony would be the worst thing he could imagine, but if he didn’t act now, he’d lose everything. “If we could destroy Hela’s ship, it would cripple her, she’d have nothing,” Bruce stated, looking over at her ship.

“But how?” Brunnhilde asked. “Our lightning cannon can’t touch it. We’d need some kind of supercharged attack.” 

Bruce looked at her, the gears turning in his head. “I need you to get to the engine room.”

“What? But there's a fight-”

“Turn on the storm machine, then get to to the lightning cannon, wait for my instructions before you fire.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Starkphone, thrusting it into her hand. 

‘Where are you going?” She asked as he turned around and ran to the edge of the ship. 

“Just wait for my signal!” He called back. 

Climbing up onto the edge of the ship, he resisted the urge to look back to see where Tony was. If he did, there was a chance he would abandon the plan, he had to do his duty. He could see that the Iron Giant was pulling around for another assault on Hela’s ship. It would have to fly right past them as it circled. Seizing a loose piece of rigging, Bruce exhaled heavily. 

“Time to fly, Banner,” he said to himself before diving off the edge. He felt a moment of pure weightlessness as he sailed through the sky towards the deck of the Giant. The rope pulled tight and he felt his stomach clench as he arched up. He was right over the deck now and he left go, screaming out of exhilaration as he freefell. Landing with a thud on the deck he rolled several meters before stopping. 

“Wha-? Bruce?!” Rhodey’s astounded voice came from the behind him. 

Bruce pulled himself up onto his feet. Adrenaline was rushing through his body, he had never felt so alive. He saw Rhodey at the helm and Natasha standing by his side, defending from any attackers that tried to come close. 

“Rhodey, Nat,  perfect. Listen I know how to beat Hela, but I need both of you to do exactly as I say.”

They gave each other a confused look and Rhodey opened his mouth like he was about to argue. But a crack of thunder interrupted him and all three ducked out of shock. All around them storm clouds were beginning to form and murmurs of thunder could be heard. 

“Please,” Bruce begged. “Tony’s hurt and the only reason he was even on that ship in the first place was because of me. You have to let me fix it.” 

“Tony’s hurt?” Rhodey interrupted. “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know…I just, I knew he would want me to focus on what was important, and that’s defeating Hela!” 

Nat shot him a suspicious look. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?” She asked. “That you’re not lying?’

“Wha-? Why would it be a trap?” Bruce asked.

“You’re dressed like one of them now,” She observed. “And you left the server. The Captain was devastated.”

“No, it’s not like that- We don’t have time for this!” He sighed before stepping towards them. “Look I don’t care what you think about me, all I know is that Hela is going to kill all of us if we don’t do something. Tony is over there right now, possibly dying, and I have to do something to save him, please!”

Rhodey gave him a firm nod. “Tell us what I have to do.” 

“The Statesman is going to fire at us with a charged attack, whatever you do,  _ don’t  _ maneuver out of its way.”

“What? Are you crazy?!” Nat yelled.

“First mate, please,” Bruce begged again, looking at Rhodey. “I know what I’m doing.”

Rhodey looked between him and Nat, torn. “Alright!” he managed finally. 

“Nat, once they've fired on us I need you to wait, for about ten seconds, then fire at the Fenris, nothing else.” 

Nat looked from Rhodey to Bruce before nodding. 

“This will work,” Bruce said assuringly. “It’s has to.” 

“And if it doesn’t?” Rhodey asked as Bruce turned to leave. 

“Then our ship will be ripped apart into thousands of pieces,” Bruce called over his shoulder. 

Hela’s crew had boarded this ship as well but Bruce weaved his way through the crowd fearlessly, a new sense of purpose inside him. He dove below deck and ran through the corridors until he reached the engine room. 

Accessing the terminal he saw the ships readouts, a small amount of damage had been taken but otherwise everything was still functioning. The thunder was much louder now and Bruce could hear it echoing all around him. He pulled out his Hammertech phone and dialed his other number.

Valkyrie was quick to answer. “Bruce, I’m here, what’s going on?” 

“Is the storm machine fully charged?” 

“Can’t you hear it out there? It’s ready. But I don’t understand what you think this will do.”

“Your storm machine was powerful but it was nothing compared to how it will be now that my Gamma engine is powering it.” 

“So you want me to fire at Hela’s ship?”

“No!” Bruce yelled over the phone, “I want you to fire at the Giant.” 

“What, Why?”

“Because I’ve run the numbers, and even with the powered up engine it wouldn’t be enough, but combined with an arc reactor? It will blow the Fenris out of existence.” 

“What’s an arc-?”

“The second you have a clear shot at the Giant, take it!” Bruce ordered.

There was silence on the other end, he wasn’t sure if she had understood, but a deafening crack sounded all around him and the Giant shook uncontrollably. Bruce had to grab hold of the terminal to keep himself on his feet. His phone slipped from his grasp and clattered away across the floor.    

Alarms begun to sound and flash as Bruce’s hands flew across the terminal’s controls. Just as he had seen the other night, the lightning wasn’t destroying the arc reactor, it was supercharging it. Combined with the new found power from his gamma engine the arc reactor was reaching critical levels of energy. As the ship continued to shake under the assault, he worked furiously at the controls, diverting all power to the weapons systems and praying that Nat didn’t fire before he was finished.

He just needed the arc reactor to hold out for long enough to reach peak power output. Slamming his finger down on the final input on the terminal it was only seconds before he heard the familiar sound of the repulsors priming. 

The Giant lurched violently to the side under the strain of its own attack against the Fenris. Bruce’s grip on the terminal wasn’t enough and we was launched across the room, slamming into the wall.  Outside he could hear the eruption of the Fenris and the Giant was hit with a secondary barrage as the shockwave of the explosion hit them. 

Pulling himself up to a porthole, Bruce watched as the Fenris was shredded apart by the blast from the repulsors. What remained was beginning to fall from the sky now that it had no functioning engines to keep it in the air. As he watched, all he could think about was whether Tony had survived. 


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Bruce didn’t realize he was just staring blankly ahead until Thor caught his attention.

“…Banner,” he said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. Bruce tried not to startle.

“Sorry,” he said, distant. “I didn’t mean to space out. What were you saying?”

Thor’s gaze was somber. “Not at all. I understand why you might be…well. Distracted. I just wanted to thank you for all your help.”

It took awhile for the words to catch up with him. When they did, he shook his head. “No, of course not. I was saving my own ass, too, you know.” He shrugged. “Didn’t exactly feel like hurtling to the ground in an airship.”

Thor looked at him seriously. “You have given us a great gift, more than you could ever know. My people owe you our gratitude, not just for the engine but for being instrumental in defeating my sister.”

Bruce nodded, and he managed a small smile. “It was my pleasure. I never would have been able to make my gamma engine work if not for your machinery.”

“I do not believe that for a moment,” Thor disagreed. “You are a brilliant man, Banner. It is truly a shame to see you go, but I see why you must. I apologize for kidnapping you again.”

Bruce swallowed, and he thought that was that. But then Valkyrie stepped over and Thor allowed them a moment. She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him knowing look.

“Are you still moping, then?”

He sputtered, “Moping? I’m not—”

Valkyrie waved a hand, and Bruce finally noticed she still had a bottle in her grip. Absently he wondered if she was ever without a drink. “I mean nothing by it, just that you ought to relax. You’re no good to anyone all caught up in your head.”

Frowning at her, he said, “Sorry if I can’t help but feel like shit right now.”

She laughed heartily. “Let me give you some advice, Banner. Sometimes you need to loosen up to get anything done—if you overthink things, you’ll never make a move.”

Bruce squinted at her, not sure if they were talking about the same thing.

She continued, “And if you still need a little liquid courage,” at this she shook the bottle in front of his face, gesturing for him to take it.

Bruce heard an indignant sound and peeked over her shoulder to see Loki looking at them. “You never share any of your liquor with us!”

Valkyrie didn’t even spare him a glance, just looking at Bruce expectantly. Bruce thought that this might be something special.

“If anything, just take a drink for your first victory in battle.”

Another smile grew on his face, this time more genuine. He accepted the bottle with a murmured thanks and took a swig.

And then promptly burst out coughing.

“ _What_ ,” he wheezed, “what’s in this?! This tastes like the inside of a someone’s boot!”

She just shrugged. “More for me, then,” she said, taking the bottle as he shook his head. That was _strong_.

But he was feeling a little more relaxed already, and inwardly he was grateful to her. He looked up at her to thank her one last time, and he found himself face to face with a piercing stare. She spared him the effort of struggling to come up with what to say.

“Banner. I meant what I said earlier.” The words confused him at first, but she continued. “Stark is as annoying as a barnacle.”

He stared.

She looked thoughtful. “Well, perhaps that’s not the right word. Tenacious? …whatever. Point is, he’s a stubborn fucker. This isn’t going to keep him down for long—you’ll see, he’ll push through.”

Bruce’s smile was watery, but it stayed strong. “Thanks,” he murmured. “I think he’s strong, too.”

Valkyrie grinned at him, and they said their goodbyes. He told himself he’d DM her.

She was right. Tony wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Bruce truly believed that.

  
  
  


**Today - October  X, XXXX  
**

stab wound aftercare - Google Search _www.google.com_ 6:12 AM

  
  
  


Rhodey caught Bruce’s attention just as he was about to enter the infirmary.

“Bruce?” he said, and Bruce turned towards him. They hadn’t spoken much since they brought Tony back onto the Giant for emergency medical care. “Can we talk?” When Bruce nodded, Rhodey settled himself against the wall.

Bruce wrung his hands, unable to get comfortable himself. He kept glancing at the door in worry.

When Rhodey noticed this, his expression seemed to soften. He looked tired, and it just occurred to Bruce that he must be worried sick for Tony. They had almost lost him and here Bruce was, too absorbed in his own thoughts to check if the others were doing okay.

He was about to voice his thoughts and apologize when Rhodey spoke first.

“Thank you,” he said, looking at Bruce earnestly and not letting him look away. “If it weren’t for you, Tony wouldn’t be alive right now.”

Bruce looked stricken. “No—no, this was all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten captured, then Tony never would have gotten hurt.”

“Is that what you think?” Rhodey shook his head firmly. “What happened wasn’t your fault. We should have had your back, you’re part of the crew now. You’re _family_. We protect each other, and sometimes we get hurt doing it.”

Bruce wasn’t convinced. “I should have done a better job. I should have been stronger so that none of this would have happened in the first place.”

Rhodey was silent for a few minutes. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t what Bruce expected to hear. “Tony got stabbed through the chest once.”

His head snapped up in alarm. “Wh-”

“Yeah.” Rhodey’s gaze was faraway. “I really thought he was going to die.” He cleared his throat, trying to gather himself in front of Bruce.

Bruce saw how protective Rhodey was over Tony, and thought he could understand why he was first mate.

He continued, “Tony hasn’t been the same since then. He’s more guarded, but he turns on the charm to make up for it. Puts on a show. But I know there are very few people he connects with, and even fewer people that make him happy.”

He didn’t know what to say with Rhodey looking at him like that.

“I saw you two that night, you know. Sitting on the edge of the deck,” he clarified. “He does that sometimes, just looks at the stars like the loneliest guy in the world. But then you came, and…I’ve never seen Tony look at anyone like that. Never heard him talk about anyone like the way he does about you.”

Bruce wondered if the look on his face was as raw as he felt.

Rhodey smiled wryly. “When they captured you, Tony wouldn’t talk about anything else but getting you back. You’re his _person_ now. Face it, Bruce, you’re stuck with him.”

He choked out a laugh, eyes drifting to the door again. “Yeah, well…he’s stuck with me, too.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear.” Rhodey gave him a firm nod, and stepped away from the wall. “I won’t keep you from him. But Bruce?”

“Yeah?”

“If you hurt him, I’ll hurl you overboard. Screw walking the plank.” Before Bruce could say anything, he was walking away.

Bruce gave his retreating back one last look, thanking Rhodey silently. Then he focused his attention on Tony again and entered the infirmary.

  
  
  


Bruce slipped in quietly, taking a seat next to Tony’s bed. He was still unconscious, breathing slightly labored. He looked so pale, so small compared to his usual larger than life self.

“Oh, Tony,” he let out a breath. Bruce’s eyes roamed over his still form as he bit his lip.

They had seen each other on the Statesman, and Bruce had been so glad to see him. So unbelievably relieved that Tony hadn’t given up on finding him. Rhodey was right, Bruce was his person, and Tony was his.

But the look Tony had given him before he was struck down…an unpleasant feeling rolled in his gut. He had to explain himself, that of course he didn’t want to leave.

“You have to wake up,” he murmured, and before Bruce knew it he was taking Tony’s hand in his. It was cold, so Bruce ran his thumb over it, trying to give him warmth. “Wake up soon, so I can tell you…”

There was no more room for misunderstandings between them. Tony was so, so important to him, and Bruce couldn’t stand him not knowing. He wanted to clear the air between them, so there would be no doubt about how Bruce felt about him.

How Bruce felt?

Tony was special to him. He saw something in Bruce that even he didn’t know he had. He looked at Bruce like he was the brilliant one, he spoke Bruce’s language and when they were together he didn’t feel lonely at all.

The only other person who had ever made him feel like that was Tank.

 _Tank_ …

Bruce’s brow furrowed at the thought of him, and he gathered his resolve. Maybe he couldn’t make things right between him and Tony yet, but he could definitely clear things up with Tank.

He wasn’t going to take any of his relationships for granted anymore. Tony had made him realize that he couldn’t.

He took a breath and, releasing Tony’s hand, he pulled out the phone from his pocket. His Tank phone. He opened the app and breathed a sigh of relief.

Bruce smiled fondly but exasperatedly as he could see that Tank was online, although he was idle. Tank never seemed to go offline, and Bruce had always chided him for that, telling him to rest and take a break. But instead of worrying about Tank’s horrible sleeping habits like he usually did, Bruce was grateful that he had his phone with him.

  


**@Auxetic Titan**

**Feynman** Today at 8:42 AM  
Tank, can we talk?

  


There was a faint noise in the room and Bruce’s head turned back to Tony to see that he was still asleep. Shaking his head, he went back to his phone.

  


**Feynman** Today at 8:43 AM  
It’s important.

  


Bruce heard another noise and he blinked, but he chalked it up to his imagination.

Frowning at the screen, he made up his mind. He clicked the phone shut for now and turned his attention back to Tony.

Tony’s expression was tense, Bruce noticed for the first time. _He must be in pain_ , Bruce thought, and before he could stop himself he was reaching out a hand to smooth Tony’s brow gently. Bruce brushed the damp hair away from his face and told himself Tony would be okay.

“I’ll be right back,” Bruce said softly. There was something he had to do.

  
  
  


He went back to his room for privacy. Bruce knew he had to do this now before he lost his nerve, but he still couldn’t help pacing back and forth before forcing himself to sit down on his bed.

  


**@Auxetic Titan**

  


Bracing himself, he tapped the button.

  


[Start Voice Call]

  


Bruce didn’t know how long it rang for. He waited for what seemed like forever, not allowing himself to think anything but, _He’ll answer. Tank will answer._

 _Please answer_.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, heart in his throat.

But eventually the phone clicked, and Bruce took everything that he had in him and made himself speak.

“It’s me,” he blurted out, “It’s—it’s Rick. Tank, I’m so sorry. For everything.”

He barely took a breath before he continued, “You mean so much to me, you have absolutely no idea. You’re my—you’re more than my friend. You’ve done more than you can believe, and you give me so much to look forward to.”

It registered in the back of his mind that he was rambling, but Bruce had to make sure he said everything. “I can’t stand the thought of us fighting, or that I’ve hurt you. I don’t want to take you for granted anymore. You deserve everything. All of me. So…I’m done holding back. Okay?”

There was a sharp intake of air, and Bruce was acutely aware of Tank’s presence on the line. He braced himself for anything—disbelief, laughter, rejection…excitement?

If it was from Tank, he would take everything.

He held his breath and waited.

And waited.

Bruce felt something like horror growing within him and he licked his lips because _this couldn’t be happening_. Tank wasn’t saying anything. What had he done?

He was going to lose Tank. He’d screwed up, read things wrong.

Making a strangled noise, he hung up.

  
  
  


The phone rang. Bruce dropped it.

He bent down to grab it and cursed as he fumbled it in his hands. He looked at the flashing screen, unable to make himself think.

Tank was calling him back. Tank wanted to talk. He would hear Tank’s voice, and then everything would be real.

All of the courage Bruce had earlier had just disappeared. _Banner_ , he told himself, _you will regret this if you don’t pick up. Pick up the phone._

Just as he was about to press [Join Call], the ringing stopped, and so did his heart.

He had waited too long, just like he always did. He let the chance pass him by. He sagged in his seat, staring blankly at his phone. He let it slip from his grip and onto the sheets.

He could just call back. Why was he even panicking? He shook his head, because he could just call back. _Okay, call back, Banner_ —

The door to his cabin swung open, banging against the wall. Bruce startled so hard he knocked the phone off the bed.

Tony was standing in his doorway, panting in exertion. Bruce looked at him with wide eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Tony interrupted him by holding up a finger.

Bruce stared at him, bewildered as Tony looked down at the phone in his hand and tapped something. Tony raised the phone up to his ear and—

His phone was ringing.

The Hammertech one. The one on the floor.

Bruce’s eyes moved slowly to the phone, and then slowly back to Tony who still didn’t say anything. He just stood there, staring at Bruce.

Bruce picked up the phone and pressed the button before holding it up to his ear.

“Hello, Mr. Rick,” Tank said, smiling widely.

“…hi, Tank.”

And then Bruce watched in wonder as Tony clicked his phone shut. He didn’t take his eyes off Bruce as he closed the distance between them, but Tony didn’t stop in front of him like he expected. Instead he sat down on the bed beside him and fell back onto the mattress. Tony groaned, shutting his eyes in pain.

“Tony?!”

Tony held up a hand. “I’m fine,” he said, out of breath. “Just gimme a minute.”

“Oh my god, did you run here?”

“It was for dramatic effect. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bleed onto your sheets.”

“That’s not what I—we need to get you back to the infirmary—” Bruce tried to stand up and call for help, but Tony grasped Bruce’s hand in his own clammy one.

Bruce made a sound, ready to protest. But Tony opened his eyes, always so expressive, and Bruce found he couldn’t make himself say anything.

Tony tugged at him, and Bruce let himself be pulled down onto the bed, lying on his side as Tony turned his head to look at him.

“Hey there,” Tony said quietly with an unreadable expression on his face.

“…hi,” Bruce answered again, unable to look away.

And then Tony’s eyes fluttered shut. Bruce was left staring at the sight of him relaxing, face slack as he breathed deeply in and out.

They stayed like that for a moment until Tony broke the silence. His eyes were still closed when he said, “You’re here.” His voice was soft, like he couldn’t believe it. “You came back.”

Bruce inhaled sharply. “Of course I did,” he said with conviction.

“I didn’t think you would. I thought—I didn’t think you wanted to.”

Bruce squeezed Tony’s hand. He had forgotten he was even holding it.

“This is my family,” he repeated what Rhodey had said earlier. “The Iron Giant is my ship. You’re my captain.”

Tony’s eyes opened, and even without him saying Bruce could tell how much that meant to him.

“And you’re my science officer,” he said, and the smile on his face was small but fond.

Bruce smiled in return and nodded. He was content in this moment, at peace and wanting to stay like this for as long as he could. Tony’s eyes roamed over his face like he was trying to memorize his expression, and Bruce flushed when they lingered a little on his lips.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment. Tony raised an eyebrow, and Bruce cut him off before he could say anything lewd. “You know…Rhodey gave me the shovel talk earlier.”

“The shovel talk, hm,” Tony said, still looking amused. “He threatened you to protect my virtue?”

“Said he would throw me off the ship if I hurt you.”

Tony hummed. “You won’t, though, will you?”

Bruce’s eyes softened. “Not if I can help it,” he said, because he couldn’t promise that to him.

Tony seemed to understand, and he brought their clasped hands up so that he could brush his lips over Bruce’s knuckles. “We’ll work at it. Together.” Bruce could hear the unspoken words that Tony would never hurt him on purpose, either.

Bruce would protect Tony. Fight for him, work with him, make him happy. And Tony would do the same for him.

Tony closed his eyes and Bruce waited for his breath to even out before shutting his own. He drifted off eventually, thoughts still on Tony.

_I think…I could really fall in love with you._


End file.
